Tripda: Carpooling Right At Your Fingertips

Getting a cab has never been so convenient (at least, most of the times) when online booking apps like GrabTaxi and Easy Taxi were introduced. I've been taking UV Express shuttles whenever I commute from our house to my work place and it's a hassle to leave early just to queue and wait for hours to finally get seated. Sometimes, there are private cars who would get passengers from the terminal. So, I thought, how convenient can it be if there's also an app for these private cars who wish to earn something out of carpooling? Thank God, I saw this ad on my Facebook wall about a carpooling app called Tripda.

Tripda is a carpooling platform that connects drivers commuting with empty seats in their cars and passengers heading the same way, so both can share the cost of the trip, while meeting new people, reducing traffic and preserving the environment!

This is such a perfect app for people, like me, who doesn't want to be standing and waiting for hours just to get a ride. Of course, there are still things that can be improved in the app but this is a good start for an innovation that will definitely be beneficial for commuters.

After doing a research, I found out that Tripda is quite new to the market as it has just been founded in Brazil last 2014. Tripda supports several desktop and mobile platforms (iOS and Android) so everyone is free to book a ride anytime needed. 

Let's now get to know the app more. 

LOGIN: Facebook account is required to login and use the app. Thru this, you'll see and get to choose who you're travelling with. 

ACCOUNT: Every user has to provide information as part of Tripda's security measures. Don't worry because sharing it to people you're travelling with is just optional.

Once you have signed up, you can already book a trip or offer your own ride.

OFFER A RIDE: Each user has the capability to offer a ride. The user has the freedom to set the following trip details: 

• Ride frequency (one-trip ride or recurring)
• Route
• Date and Time (either round trip or one way trip)
• Scheduled Stops
• Price per passenger
• Mode of Payment
• Car Info such as the model, color, number of offered seats, allowable luggage size, and grace period.

Here's the form that you have to fill-up when offering a ride:

BOOK A TRIP: Booking a ride is quite easy. You just need 3 information: location, destination, and date.

Simply choose your preferred trip in the search results. You can sort it by proximity, time, and price. You can also filter the results by: 

• Time
• Distance
• Price
• Car Comfort Level
• Ladies Only (for ladies who prefer travelling with just ladies)

Selecting a trip will show you detailed information about it. If you're good with it, just click on that Request a Seat button and get booked! 

SECURITY MEASURES: Safety of the passengers is very important. Of course, Tripda has security measures in place. Tripda implements a rating system where they would take action whenever a driver receives a negative feedback. Through the rating system, comments from users, Facebook profile and user information, you can choose who you're travelling with. 

Now that you know the basics of Tripda, here are my thoughts about it:

WHAT I LOVE

• Very convenient for commuters. No lines and no long waits (Tripda has a grace period of 15 minutes but that's it!). You can maximize your time in doing other stuff while waiting for your trip. 
• Ladies Only. Yes, both drivers and passengers have an option to exclusively travel with girls. 
• Security measures are in place. 

WHAT I QUITE DIDN'T LIKE

• Irregular trip schedules. I understand, though, that the app is mainly for carpooling where private citizens are offering their services to public. 
• Inaccurate search results. I tried searching but results would display trips that's very far from my preferred destination. For example, my destination is Taguig but there are trips where end destination is in QC.
• Irregular fare price. I just hope drivers won't abuse the freedom to identify the rates of their services.
• Mobile app issues: (1) Date picker appears when you tap on the Date field but when you cancel it, it wouldn't appear again (2) You can type the desired date but when searching, it would automatically change to the actual date when you're booking a ride

SUGGESTIONS

• [Mobile] Include a calendar to easily select the date instead of just typing it
• [Mobile] Show the Pick-up Point and Destination in the Search Results. Since the search results isn't that accurate, it's very time consuming to check each item in the list.
• Fix mobile issues 

There you go! As of now, there are quite limited trips available. Surely, this app will go a long way as soon as people learn about it.

Find out more about Tripda. Visit https://www.tripda.com.ph/

There's just one thing about the app though that kind of concerns me. Uber has faced issues recently because of the type of service that they provide. Looking at Tripda, they both offer services of private vehicles. Could it be possible that Tripda also face the same issue from the government? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.