A striking signature of the millennial generation is the widespread acceptance of the sharing economy, in particular the take-it-or-leave it attitude towards car ownership.
Numbers don’t lie, and over the last few years statistics have shown a significant drop in young people who own cars, as well as those with driver’s licenses–and that decline continues among the youngest millennials, meaning this is not a trend that’s going away anytime soon. From 2007 to 2011, the number of cars purchased by people aged 18 to 34, fell almost 30%, and according to a study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, only 44% of teens obtain a driver’s license within the first year of becoming eligible and just half, 54% are licensed before turning 18. This is a major break with the past, considering how most teens of the two previous generations would race to the DMV for their license or permit on the day of their 16th birthday.
A number of social media powered car sharing business models have sprung up to take advantage of this dynamic, notably Zip Car and Uber. Now a new company is updating the college ride-board for longer distance travelers who want to share a ride, without the uncertainties of relying on a stranger.
Tripda was founded to connect passengers who wish to go to a certain place with drivers who are traveling in that direction. But unlike Uber or Lyft, Tripda isn’t about short rides in a particular city — it’s more about long-range trips between cities. In that way Tripda is a lot more like Europe’s BlaBlaCar or Zimride, the ride-sharing startup that eventually became Lyft.
Through its marketplace, users will be able to sign up with their Facebook accounts and search for a route between New York City and Philadelphia, for instance, based on when they would like to travel. The company doesn’t specify the cost of rides — those are set by the driver — but eventually it will take a small cut of the transaction, just as Airbnb does when someone completes a stay in a host’s home.
Tripda first launched in May, initially going after emerging markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia. It’s currently available in 10 countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, The Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and India. But opening up operations in the U.S. was always a part of the company’s plan, according to CEO of North America Adi Vaxman.
That’s because the company sees a huge opportunity to serve a part of the market that Uber, Lyft, and other companies have largely left behind. Vaxman notes that the trend of car ownership going down amongst millennials is creating a largely untapped market segment for people needing to find ways to travel between longer distances.
Unlike Uber and Lyft — which feature semiprofessional drivers offering immediate rides over moderate distances — Tripda helps those in the planning stages of longer city-to-city treks find passengers willing to defray expenses.
“We’re more a marketplace like eBay, aimed at drivers who want to cover basic expenses and passengers who feel good about reducing the number of cars on the road,” says Adi Vaxman, one of four Tripda founders and former COO of ride-sharing site Gett. “And unlike hitchhiking, with our app you’ll know who you’re with.”
Tripda’s app provides social media-sourced information on prospective drivers and passengers, as well as a rating system based on past drives. There’s also a Ladies Only feature aimed at women who, for safety or cultural reasons, prefer female car mates.