Side Car is a peer-to-peer taxi service (which can also be explained as a community rideshare) comprised of drivers who volunteer to give people rides and work for donations

“Chelsea” writes:

“I recently discovered a new service, which a friend who works at airbnb adoringly called “Uber for common folk.” While I don’t like that delineation, he’s right. Most people will not use Uber, which is a private car service that costs nearly two times what a taxi would.

Sidecar is a peer-to-peer taxi service (which can also be explained as a community rideshare) comprised of drivers who volunteer to give people rides and work for donations. The donation is pretty clear and most people pay the suggested donation or beyond to keep the service running.

The amazing thing is that Sidecar is 20-30% cheaper than a taxi and is just as personal and efficient, if not more than uber. When I need to take short trips across town, I’ll be using Sidecar and suggest you do too. Please note: The availability of daytime trips are currently spotty as Sidecar is building up driver base in San Francisco. Although, weekends and evenings… you should be good to go. Sidecar provides the flexibility and personalization of Uber and gets you where you need to go with door-to-door service and a smile. Plus, I can rest easy knowing that the drivers are earning some extra cash as many of them are in between jobs, retirees, students, etc. driving as a volunteer and community member.”

In Shareable, Kelly McCartney adds that:

“Using the free SideCar mobile app, drivers and passengers can find each other instantaneously and share on-demand rides. Rather than call a cab, riders can use their smartphones to find a SideCar ride. Passengers use the app to set their pick-up and drop-off locations, then track their SideCar driver in real-time to get an estimated pick up time.

The app also tracks progress to destination in real-time, offers a constantly adjusted ETA, and lets riders easily message arrival information to those at the destination. I especially like the progress tracker that uses mapping software. It offers added assurance that you’re actually headed in the right direction.

The mobile app includes sharing and rating features (for both riders and drivers), as well as an electronic tip jar so the rider can help cover the driver’s expenses. SideCar is finding that the contributions often cover drivers’ vehicle maintenance and operation costs. And voluntary online donations keep the service within the definition of ride sharing instead of a taxi service, though the latter is exactly what Sidecar aims to disrupt.”