After successful launch in Brazil, German start up incubator Rocket Internet-backed Tripda, a ride-sharing marketplace is now launched in Pune and Mumbai. The service connects people who need rides with drivers who have empty car seats on long trips.
The service was first launched in Brazil in May 2014. Currently, it has a more than 50, 000 users in Brazil and 20,000 rides are being carried out. Tripda is also expanding its base in other markets like Latin America, and United States, Asian countries like India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Phillipines.
"Our focus in more on intercity travelling rather than intercity because it can generate revenues for the car owner and options are available on sharing basis. It is quite difficult to run car pooling on commercial basis in intercity travelling. We are currently exploring cities like Delhi, Mumbai Bangalore and Pune. We are talking to various universities, academic institutions, corporates and with few event management organisations. also have a ladies only option for female travelers", said Pedro Meduna, co-founder and CEO, Tripda.
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In India, Tripda is started in Delhi in November this year and now coming to Pune and Mumbai. The company is targeting youth of age group between 20 to 35 years and community people for long distance travellers. It is looking for club memberships as well. However, Meduna refused to share financial details and investments made by Rocket Internet in Tripda.
Meduna added, " Our Goal, based on the principles of the sharing economy, is to make it easy for our members to communicate so everyone wins - drivers, passengers, our society in general and the environment. By offering a ride as a driver, you can put your vehicle to better use, saving both money and fuel. When taking a ride as a passenger, you will also save money and time."
Explaning the idea, Nitish Bhushan, country manager, Tripda India said, "The service helps you cut your trip expenses for intercity travel. The global platform helps you find the right travel partner. It ensures safe journey as the car owner and co-passengers are all verified by the platform. It also helps to identify co-passengers with similar interests to make the journey fun. The service reduces environmental impact of driving by consolidating multiple travelers into one car."
How it works?
According to Nitish Bhushan, passengers can create accounts only by binding their Facebook ID to Tripda's website and then enter their pickup location, destination, and date of departure. Drivers need to register their vehicle by providing the car's brand, model, number of seats available and level of comfort before entering the upcoming car trips. Tripda sets a suggested price for drivers to charge each passenger. Passengers and drivers can also set personal travel preferences, exchange messages and mutually filter travel partners taking similar journeys. It also verifies drivers and passengers to ensure security and safeguard user privacy, including offering a "ladies only" option for women seeking all-female rides.
