Ask YC: Would you commute with strangers to save gas/time?

I would use it. Nice implementation too. Maybe you could let people set start and end points using clicks on the Google map?

It doesn't respond to http://ride4all.com (or didn't... now it did... now it's just slow...)

Sadly, being in the US, I would plaster it with some kind of legal disclaimer about not taking responsibility for anything untoward happening. And maybe some plain English safety tips, as security is certainly in many people's minds.

as much as i like the idea, i'd much rather find someone to ride with on my own, in person, from my own social circle. that removes the reliability and trust issues.

No. I like having flexible hours.

While I wouldn't use it personally, there's a practice in the Washington DC area (possibly others as well) known as slugging, which is essentially organized hitchhiking. You go to a specific place and wait for someone going your direction who wants to take advantage of the carpool lanes. From what I've heard from people who use it, it works remarkably well. My point is, yes, there is a market of people who will take rides with strangers.

http://www.slug-lines.com/

I've done it. I don't have a car, and I used to work at a place 40km away (i.e, outside comfortable cycling distance). Hence, I got rides with co-workers I otherwise had no contact with.

There is also facebook and college campus centric http://zimride.com

No! I want my privacy.

I do this already in the Bay Area in California. There are several carpool pickup points in the East Bay (Oakland/Berkeley) that drop off in downtown San Francisco. I either pick up people here or hitch a ride every morning. The advantage is that you can use the carpool lane which saves 10-15min during rush-hour and a $4 toll.

I take the subway to work, so "Yes."

If you can have a system that's like mass transit, but competitive -- e.g. if there's a policy that could have positive or negative effects, the transit system doesn't have to try it all at once -- that would be a pleasant improvement.

i think its a fantastic idea, this saves a lot of time, money and energy ... this idea will be instantly super-hit amongst south asians (india, pakistan, bangladesh, srilanka and may be china as well) - you might be surprised to know that people from these countries are used to share rides with strangers, in fact it is a norm in some parts of these countries... there is absolutely no fear or privacy or any other kind of issue amongst people from these countries - in fact there is something like share-a-taxi program in many part of these countries. Following is what i would suggest:

1.target everyone but make a special effort to focus on south asians.

2. make your web-tool extremely simple to use. use simple GUI with simple english so that a person who is not that familiar with the language or computer can also use it with ease.

3. Also after getting initial success try to make features available in multiple language, this will increase your market by senior citizens (again south asians) who dont know english.

4. Two parties should be able to connect instantly, here u may add some kind of web-to-cell (and cell-to-web) tools. so for example if i'm already out of my home/work but if i can still pick-up someone on the way then i should be able to know that via my cell phone.

5. You will also come to know what routes are more popular in what part of the city, this should make you able to add few more features that saves user's time in getting a ride right away.

6. This is most important feature: add a tool where 2 people speaking same language get connected right away - this will create a comfort zone and your service will be hit just by adding this feature .... TRUST ME ON THIS !!!

Very cool idea. I would add an ebay like trust rating to account for punctuality, safe driving, etc.

Be careful you don't run afoul of taxi laws. Cars are only inefficient means of transport because they're usually 3/4 empty. The taxicab companies would like to keep them that way, and municipalities are depressingly complicit. (Google for "taxi medallion" to see what I mean.) If you start getting successful, expect to hear from their lawyers.

People have been known to do much worse things with strangers to save money for gas ;)

I would have used it. I used to ride with a van pool. Links:

http://www.vanpool.com/ (sponsored by Enterprise rent-a-car)

http://www.vanpoolusa.com/ (sponsored by VPSI Inc.)

This was in Southern California, where public transportation has been endangered or extinct for decades. The arrangement sucked, and my current commute sucks enough that I'd carpool again if the meetup time wasn't 5:45 a.m.

Edit: I poked at it a little, and noticed that it doesn't ask for a radius when saving a new commute (no matches). Is the matching algorithm fuzzy enough to figure out when I'm "close enough" to someone else's route? Does it match along the whole route, so I could pick someone up midway?

No. I suspect that for many people their car is a sanctuary where they can actually get some peace and quiet twice a day, listen to their own music, and generally get some "me" time. That said, there are still lots of people who would, so go for it!

Cool idea. A couple of good points made in the comments: 1. Flexible hours 2. Privacy/Safety issues

The first point is common to all ride-share including mass-transit. I think you need to consider a mobile strategy that addresses a scenario like "I'm ready to go. Anyone going my way?" or "I'm headed out. Anyone need a ride?"

Privacy/Safety is implicit but important. You partly address that via gender specification but it needs to go further like "I'm a girl is only willing to share with other girls".

Anyway, a nice start. If you're serious then there is much work ahead.