Drivesrides

Drivesrides is a mobility concept describing a hybrid platform that combines elements of ride-hailing and car sharing by enabling individuals to drive passengers or request rides through a single service. In this model, drivers may offer seats in their own vehicles or participate in carpooling, while riders can locate nearby trips and share costs. The term appears in academic papers and industry discussions to describe potential integrations of private driving with on-demand transportation rather than a particular company.

Operation and features: A drivesrides platform uses geolocation, routing algorithms, and dynamic pricing to match riders with available drivers, optimize routes, and pool riders along common paths. Typical features include user verification, insurance coverage, safety checks, trip sharing, real-time tracking, and built-in payments. The platform can support flexible driver participation, including part-time or ad-hoc driving.

Benefits and risks: If widely adopted, drivesrides could reduce empty miles, raise vehicle utilization, and lower transportation costs for users while potentially decreasing overall congestion. However it raises regulatory and safety questions around driver classification, liability, insurance, data privacy, and urban impact. Deployment requires clear policies on insurance, eligibility criteria, driver training, and data governance.

See also: car sharing, ride-hailing, ride pooling, mobility as a service.