Carpoold

Overview:

Carpoold is social networking tool that helps individuals that commute to work connect with others to form a car pool. Members sign up for a free account, classify themselves as a driver or rider, and are able to connect with drivers or riders who commute from geographically similar locations. The mission of Carpoold is to lessen the cost of commuting for individuals working in urban areas, decrease traffic congestion, and reduce air pollution in urban areas.

Pricing:

Carpoold will help riders save money and drivers earn money. Passengers seeking a driver will be able to find a driver close by, sign up for an open seat in his or her vehicle, and use a checkout system to pay the driver a flat rate fee depending on the services provided. For example, potential prices could be $9.99 for round trip commuting for one work week (Monday through Friday), $2.00 per day round trip, or $1.00 for a one way trip. Passengers will pay Carpoold the appropriate price, Carpoold will collect a 5% (or some other percentage) commission, and will transfer the remaining monies to the driver’s bank account. For example, a driver who has three seats in his or her vehicle can find three passengers, each paying $9.99 for a week of round trip commuting. Carpoold collects $29.97 from all the riders, keeps $1.50, and pays the driver $28.47. This will help the driver pay for gas, parking, and other expenses. Passengers will save money by not driving or taking public transportation, which can cost upwards of $2.00 one way and can take significantly more time than driving.

Market Analysis & Projected Revenues:

According to data published in July 2008, 128.29 million individuals commuted to work in the United States . Of these drivers, if only .25% decide to offer one passenger a weekly round trip commuting seat, then 320,500 passengers are paying $9.99 weekly. Carpoold receives 5% of the total payments, generating $160,000 in weekly revenue. This translates to $8.35 million in annual revenues. The target customer is a individuals between the ages of 16 and 30 who are young professionals, students, professional interns, or wage earners. These individuals have routine commuting schedules and are more likely to car pool over individuals who are wealthier or farther into their careers.

Competitors:

Competition does exist in various forms. Ride sharing sites such as eRideShare and Carpool World already exist, but they have several drawbacks. Both sites depend on ad revenue to generate income, which clutters up the website. In addition, both websites can significantly be simplified and made more user-friendly. By handling payments and restricting advertisements, Carpoold makes the interface simpler, more aesthetic, and user-friendly. In addition, by focusing on individual metropolitan areas one at a time, rather than opening up membership nationally from the start, Carpoold can cater to individual markets and make improvements before expanding to a larger customer base. Another site, Zimride.com, allows individuals to name their own price for a seat in their car for long distance trips. This creates additional variability in pricing that Carpoold will minimize by setting a fixed-rate price. In addition, Carpoold will focus on daily commuting rather than long-distance car trips.