How P2P ride-sharing app Pikup wants to provide a safe carpooling experience

written by Anu Thomas for Economic Times

It is never too late to be on time. Chasing massive traffic and a dream to make commuting easier and cheaper, a group of five spirited IIT-Roorkee graduates pushed the brakes on their cushy jobs to turn the ignition on Pikup, a unique peer-to-peer ride-sharing app that allows you to share empty seats in your car with other travellers in exchange for money.

Launched early April, this Delhi-based startup has already traversed miles in exploring the potential of this industry. In addition to giving people a more environmentally-friendly option by correspondingly bringing down the number of vehicles on the road, it also helps people reach their destinations faster and in a more cost-effective manner by reducing the waiting period for a cab or an auto by connecting you to a network of people who are driving on the same route.

Punk my ride

"The rising middle class in a rapidly urbanising India are increasingly opting to travel alone in their private cars since more often than not, time is compromised when using public means of transport like buses," says Amit Bhasin, co-founder of Pikup. "People do realise the impact their decisions are having on the environment but they feel helpless when faced with few alternatives," he said.

Cab-pooling may be an option but apprehensions around it are not difficult to comprehend. Despite being a public means of transport, people largely treat cabs or autos as private vehicles and feel uneasy about sharing it with people they don't know. Also, peer-to-peer ride sharing offered by existing companies have also been unable to plug this loophole by failing to make it more rider-friendly. Pikup's differentiation lies in building a safe platform by creating a closed network of poolers and riders.

"Unlike other startups in this sector, our service is purely by invite, creating a white-listed user base," says Juhi Mohan, part of the marketing team at Pikup. "In addition to this, only an existing user can grant a person entry into the system, further strengthening its safety aspect," she adds.

Join the joyride

The app allows a person with seats to spare - be it in a car, an auto or even a cab - to share his or her route online and connect with a person heading the same way using various route-matching algorithms. Seekers can request a ride and if accepted by the pooler, it will direct them to the 'pikup' point determined by the app. Once the ride is complete, a cashless payment process is initiated through Paytm, further making the process less cumbersome by avoiding the hassle of change. The entire operation is quite elementary and allows a convenient way of travelling.

"I have used Pikup thrice and the experience was wonderful each time," says Rachit Saran, Senior Analyst at Everest Group. "The fact that all riders in the system are verified in the sense that they went through some process of filtering makes this network safe to communicate with." Adds Naveen Malhotra, a Consultant at KPMG, "After shedding my initial inhibition around carpooling, I came to realize how convenient this can be. Coordination with regard to pick up points are also minimised since such points are located by the app."

The prices are also transparent and listed on the app in the form of rate cards that are fixed based on the distance covered. "This makes it nearly 70 per cent cheaper than current cab and auto rates since it is immune from surge pricing and other time-based charges," says Mohan. "Moreover, it will also help ease the fuel bill of the person offering the seat," she adds.

Too close for comfort?

Trust becomes the focal point that can make or break any carpooling initiative. By creating a closed-knit group of users whose backgrounds are verified on several grounds, the possibility of unpleasant encounters comes down substantially, thereby fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust.

Elaborates Bhasin: "People who want to use Pikup are first asked to verify their organisation affiliation by submitting their corporate email addresses. This also makes it easier to track down individuals in case of any untoward incident. Social media profiles also help users discover mutual friends. It also comes in handy when running background checks, such as how old the profile is, to make sure users are not creating fake accounts to sign up to the system," he said.

The app also allows a female-only option that matches female riders with seekers. There is also an SOS feature, where apart from your registered contacts, Pikup will also receive a real-time update on a user's whereabouts through SMS and call.

"The feedback we get from riders and poolers eventually reflect on a user's trust score. People with negative feedback on a consistent basis are then eliminated from the system," says Bhasin. "Unlike other service providers in the industry, Pikup is a community effort of thousands of people who themselves define the security and reliability of the system. We just try to provide smart solutions to facilitate the same," he adds.

The app plugs the demand and supply gap between drivers and riders, which is a common problem among online cab aggregators. It may be too early to pass a verdict on its practicality, but it is nevertheless a humble start towards getting people to do their part in curbing air pollution by minimising traffic on the roads.

Cracks and potholes

Legal guidelines governing ride-sharing apps in India call for all cars to have emergency buttons, in addition to running criminal background checks on all drivers, along with maintaining 24/7 call centers. However, policy and regulations for carpooling are not well defined.

Section 66 of the Motor Vehicles Act does not allow private car owners to ferry passengers for monetary benefits, even though free carpooling is encouraged. This means that price pooling or sharing of costs between riders and poolers are authorized, but making a business out of the same may be punishable by law. Apps overseeing this transaction also enjoy immunity from the law as they are only charging a convenience fee for bringing the rider and the pooler together and nothing more.

"Organized carpooling is yet to scale in India and hence may not be getting adequate attention by policy makers," says Mohan. "However, we do expect the government to come up with policies in the future that will help us expand its scope and potential, while ensuring the interests of consumers," she adds.

Today, peer-to-peer ride sharing cannot necessarily be called a novel idea. The entry of global player BlaBlaCar about a decade ago became a major milestone in this industry. Back home, a lot of startups are also racing to the finish line including MeBuddie, PoolCircle and CarPoolAdda. Yet, Pikup is running its own race.

"We are trying to create a closed trusted community of co-riders, which is a landslide shift in the way the concept of ride-sharing has been dealt with till now," says Mohan. "We believe that to achieve its full potential, it is imperative to establish a culture around ride-sharing, which we are trying to do at Pikup," she adds.

Popular cab aggregators are also exploring P2P ride-sharing with both Uber and Ola toying with the idea. The enthusiasm in the space is palpable, but the question that remains unanswered is who will lead that transition. Will Pikup 'pick up' from where others have left off? Only time will tell.

With Thanks : Anu Thomas for Economic Times