Laurent Kretz

I’ve been working on an idea that was bouncing in my head for some time now: sharing cab rides.

Of course not the small ride of 10mn that you decide to take at the last minute because you’re tired and don’t feel like taking the bus, or because it suddenly starts raining.

I’m more thinking about the taxi ride that you will take coming back from the airport on Monday evening, or the cab ride that you take every single Wednesday after your weekly squash game, or the cab you take after your Sundays at the stadium.

And here it is: ShareMyCab.net has arrived !!

Why would I share a cab with someone ?

Because cabs are expensive: coming back from the airport in New York means 60 less bucks in my pocket. In Paris, it’s about 90 dollars. In London, even more … Why not share ? 400 persons are getting out of the same plane at the same moment, getting their bags, and figuring out how to get back to town. They are tired because of the trip, and tempted to avoid the train and catch a cab. And there is never only one plane at a time in an airport, of course. I’m sure at least 5 to 10 of those 400 are going to the same areas as you do … !

Because I want to be “green”, or “environment friendly”, or “environmentally aware”: two persons in one cab is one cab less on the road. In New York, there are over 13,000 cabs driving 241 millions passengers over 800 million miles every year. In New York alone … With an average 20 miles per gallon for a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria, 800 million miles represents 40 million gallons of fuel. Yes, just that … ;-)
Add Paris, London, Washington, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Milan, and every other capital or megalopolis to those figures …

Because it can be fun ! Over the last year, I met a girl from Paris who owned three restaurants after an amazing career in political communication, I met a student in physics from Columbia, a squash player (…that beats my a*s all the time), just by asking the person next to me in the subway line if they mind sharing the ride.

So please, give me some help and try out ShareMyCab.net ! And let me know what you think.
And of course, if you like it, share it with some friends !! ;-))