Carpooling Platforms Battle Surge in Paid Rides
MONTREAL – Carpooling services Amigo Express and Poparide are actively combating a growing trend of drivers exploiting their platforms for profit, effectively turning shared rides into unauthorized transportation businesses. The companies report increased efforts to identify and restrict users engaging in frequent, revenue-generating trips, raising questions about the future of the carpooling model.
While initially envisioned as a way for individuals to share the costs of travel, both platforms have seen a rise in drivers consistently offering rides - sometimes multiple times a week – and potentially circumventing regulations governing commercial transportation. This shift threatens the core principle of carpooling, which relies on incidental ride-sharing between people already making the journey, and could draw scrutiny from transportation authorities.
Amigo express General Manager Marc-Olivier Vachon recalls the platform’s humble beginnings, noting, “At first, there was a guy who had a small fridge and who sold biscuits and liquor.” He now expresses concern that the current trend deviates from the company’s original intent. “It’s nonsense,it seems to me that’s not why I created this company,” Vachon stated.
According to Amigo Express data, 93% of passengers utilize drivers who transport fewer than 26 passengers monthly, averaging one round trip per week wiht three riders. Despite this, the company has banned 77 accounts since September – linked to approximately twenty individuals – for suspicious activity. To curb the practice,Amigo Express is implementing price caps,limiting drivers to one round trip per day,and closely monitoring travel records of frequent drivers. Poparide has adopted similar restrictions.
Both companies emphasize that drivers are ultimately responsible for their activity on the platforms. ”It is the driver who is responsible for his activity on our platform. So our skills are to regulate the price of the journey so that the driver does not make a profit,” an Amigo Express representative explained.The co-founder of Poparide echoed this sentiment, stating, “I think that if there are people who are trying to make a business out of this, it’s really not a good business.”
Vachon reinforces the economic reality, asserting, “What disturbs me is that there is no money to be made in carpooling.” The platforms’ actions signal a commitment to preserving the original spirit of carpooling and preventing the erosion of a service designed for cost-sharing, not commercial gain.
