We’ve already seen one carpooling initiative in India, but recently we came across another that offers an interesting twist. Based in Vadodara, OliveTrips not only connects commuters for shared trips, it also delivers periodic summaries of the savings that result. Users begin by registering for free on OliveTrips with a Gmail address and mobile phone number. They then register their car, bike or other vehicle, including seating capacity, fuel type and mileage. They can also choose to include expiry dates for their insurance and pollution-under-control (PUC) documents. Next, users can post details of the trips they hope to take, including specifying whether they prefer male or female co-riders, or any other requirements. Once that’s done, OliveTrips can be used to search for other posted trips that match the user’s requirements. When one looks promising, users can express interest, prompting OliveTrips to send an email and SMS to enable direct communication between those involved. Perhaps even more interesting, however, is that OliveTrips periodically sends users a customized EcoReport depicting the environmental benefits, financial savings, and fuel savings they’ve made from using the service. Such reports are sent quarterly for most, but can be sent monthly for the site’s heaviest users. OliveTrips also offers the option of renewing users’ insurance and PUC documents for them. Ride-sharing sites are no longer uncommon, so it makes perfect sense to see new competitors expanding the services they offer, particularly in such a way as to emphasize the benefits of what they do. Like-minded services around the globe: what about you? Spotted by: Suresh Purohit

13th October 2011

Email: care@olivetrips.com

Website: www.olivetrips.com