<== Site of the Week for 2009-04-20 ==>

PickupPal

PickupPal is an interesting alternative to renting a car. This global site organizes rideshares and car pools. As a global site, they have a strong focus on longer trips.

The site invites both drivers and ride seekers. The account holders simply enter the origins and destinations of their trips. If people find a match, then they can hook up and share the ride (with the ride seeker pitching into pay gas money.

The site is popular for events. I came across the site as part of a sporting event that was seeking to find ways to reduce the number of cars they would have to deal with.

In my quick examination of the site, I could not figure out how they keep scary people (predators) from using the site to find prey. I noticed that the site is convenient located in the Barbados (where it would be difficult to sue).

I like the idea of ride sharing. The reason that ride sharing is so much less expensive than the bus, train or renting is that ride sharers exchange cash under the table. Professional transportation firms must charge enough to cover payrolls, taxes, and a huge liability exposure.

That said, I like the idea of meeting people while I travel. The site has a cool implementation of Google naps, and several YouTub videos like the one below: