In an attempt to ease traffic and remove excess cars in the Cape Town CBD, ride-sharing app uGoMyWay, through Accelerate Cape Town (ACT), has begun a carpooling pilot.
The app, designed in SA and currently available only in the Western Cape city, hopes to connect drivers with empty seats to passengers travelling in the same direction.
ACT will encourage its business partners located in the most congested parts of the city to use the app. uGoMyWay offers organisations a ring-fenced option that allows users to only see and be seen by other members of the same organisation.
Results from the latest TomTom Traffic Index show Cape Town has the most congested roads in SA. It states congestion levels can lead to a 71% increase in journey time during peak hours, with single occupancy vehicles making up 79% of the cars entering the CBD.
This report was one of the influences behind creating the ACT carpooling project.
The app lets users create a journey, either ring-fenced or open to the public, and then matches are ranked with the most suitable at the top. Once a match is created, the driver and passenger can chat in the app to decide who is picking up who, and what costs will be shared.
Drivers will be compensated for using their vehicle. Passengers do not need to use cash or cards, as payments will be made electronically through the app, similar to how e-hailing taxi service Uber works.
"Behavioural change is fundamental to easing traffic congestion since we cannot build ourselves out of the situation we are facing. Increasing congestion could dampen the economic growth of our city region," says ACT CEO Ryan Ravens.
"In an effort to meet increasing demand and keep the city moving and growing sustainably, solutions that include the use of emerging tech, such as that of uGoMyWay, must be embraced."
Chris Megan, co-founder of uGoMyWay, says the results of the pilot to date are positive and encouraging, with over 90% of users finding matches.
"Large-scale carpooling has huge benefits if you consider that every carpooling participant takes another car off the road, resulting in less congestion," says Megan.
The app is available to download free from the Android and Apple app stores.
There are other apps available in SA that offer the same services, such as CarTrip and Findalift. Google has also piloted similar programmes.
Last year, it was reported ride-sharing services utilising freelance drivers, like Uber and Lyft, will see revenue double by 2020.
Uber South Africa said previously it hopes to bring UberPool, a carpooling option, to the platform soon.
The option is already operational in the US, China, India, London and Paris. Uber Sub-Saharan Africa GM Alon Lits says if UberPool was used by existing Uber customers, traffic into Johannesburg could be reduced by up to 800 000 cars.
Share