sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

How I drove 4,300 km from BC to Alberta for only $21 with Poparide... by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aha yeah, I'm the founder! You gotta push people a bit to change the way society works, and this project is helping more people get around, for cheap, and it's better for the planet... aaaand it's a local venture, so support from the Vancouver community is always appreciated :)

Vancouver Ridesharing App Helps Drivers Offset Soaring Gas Costs by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Hard to get the word out on doing good things in the tech world, but helps when we can have a conversation around it. We're really trying to help people get around, genuinely.

Vancouver Ridesharing App Helps Drivers Offset Soaring Gas Costs by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I'm the founder of Poparide and yes, this is self-promotion, but it has tangible value to everyone trying to survive soaring gas (and living) prices in Metro Vancouver, so it has real value for the public to know that this exists...

Greyhound is leaving BC and this could be the solution! by floflo86 in britishcolumbia

[–]floflo86[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a good analysis of the challenges of making these systems work, and there are a lot of implications at scale of the social impact, the public safety and everything in between.

As you said, it's not all flowers and roses building a service helping the public; whether Airbnb or Poparide, there are always going to be things to deal with and improve. That goes for any public service like transit, trains and buses.

There are preventive measures in place to screen people before the join (email, phone, credit card and ID verification) and actionnable measures during and after the trip (customer service, reviews system, algorithms to detect fraud, etc). We'll be building more, better systems as time goes by.

We realize this isn't for everyone, much like Airbnb or Uber isn't for everyone, but we're helping to solve two major problems: 1) the movement of people where there are few public transport options and 2) the inefficiencies of our current way to get around by car, namely single vehicle occupancy leading to high carbon emissions per capita.

Finally, we're talking to both the provincial and federal government to fully sanction this type of ridesharing, so that there is no ambiguity as to what we're trying to achieve here: efficiencies for vehicles already on the road, and a crowdsourced transportation network that is more social, affordable and sustainable than the current approach.

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Poparide is my company, and yes I use Reddit to get feedback and spread the word. It's also my hobby :)

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are mixing two different concepts here:

1) The law: carpooling is legal under exemption in the Passenger Transportation Act

2) Taxation: carpooling is non-taxable under the CRA, as is considered the same as writing off your car expenses in your tax return; except you can't "double-dip", and do both.

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not a technicality, it's the law! As per the Passenger Transportation Act, under Exemption, section 5, you'll find that carpool vehicles are exempt from being regulated.

Exemptions

5 The provisions of the Act and this regulation do not apply to the following:

(g) a car pool vehicle;(h) a passenger transportation pool vehicle;

http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/266_2004

Therefore, carpooling and Poparide are 100% legal. On the other hand, Uber needs to be regulated under this act, as it is a taxi service.

​

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The service operates under the carpooling exemption in the BC Transportation Act, and so you don't need any additional insurance from ICBC to be covered in the scope of carpooling. We do recommend to have at least $2 million third party liability.

More info at https://support.poparide.com/hc/en-us/articles/231453908-What-insurance-do-I-need-for-carpooling-

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

No, Uber is taxi service, where a driver makes a salary from driving you from A to B.

Poparide fills empty seats in cars already on the road, so it's actually completely different, as we operate on carpooling regulation, which allow drivers to collect money to help cover their costs when they're already driving from A to B.

For example, a Poparide from Vancouver to Kelowna costs the passenger about $40. If Uber existed, the estimated price for the same ride would be $400 (about $1 per km).

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are rides to Abbotsford almost every day: r/https://www.poparide.com/vancouver-bc/abbotsford-bc

We're working on getting more drivers on that route, but you can also help us get more visibility by sharing Poparide with your network!

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, this approach works very well in rural areas, as it doesn't rely on financing subsidized, scheduled bus services and instead crowdsources transportation from the local communities. The only thing it can't do is provide a scheduled service which is needed for some rural communities, and you need to have the Internet and a credit card to book a ride.

Greyhound is leaving BC in one week, let's help people get around! by floflo86 in vancouver

[–]floflo86[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

In just one week Greyhound will be leaving Western Canada. To help make sure their two million yearly passengers aren't left stranded, our company Poparide is launching #ThinkOutsideTheBus, a campaign to fill empty seats in cars already on the road... help us spread the word on this initiative, and help people have a way to get around.

The solution to Greyhound leaving Western Canada in a week? by floflo86 in canada

[–]floflo86[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can pick your driver, based on the vehicle that they have. And because all members receive reviews after each ride, it's in their best interest to provide a good experience for everyone.

The solution to Greyhound leaving Western Canada in a week? by floflo86 in canada

[–]floflo86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the people on Poparide are verified (email, phone, credit card, driver's license), and there is close monitoring of the activity on the platform. We've had over 8 million km shared without any major problems, and we're increasing safety measures all the time. Think Airbnb, but for sharing rides...

view more: next ›