There cannot be a bus going to every corner of the city from every other corner, but theres practically always somebody else driving the exact same route as a couple other people.
So it could be enormously efficient to have a private/public combination: Get people to sign up to the system, after a background check and eligibility process, either as drivers, or passengers or both. Designate a wide range of meeting points, or create a highly precise set of directions for peoples homes. Install Cab-like devices on the cars of people that register, and voila. You call, say point a3 to point q19 around 5:30. Make it a market in which you bid with reserve prices or automatic bidding. support it by a true taxi cab system so that people know there's another form of transportation if the system doent show up anybody avilable.
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A market driven system similiar to this, less structured, already exists in Russia and Ukraine. You can either wait for an official bus, a licensed multi-person taxi/bus on a designated route, or a private car will pull over. The private cars are much more expensive, but still cheap, and you get drop off delivery at your point of destination.
This is a nice idea right up until it gets mainstream enough to abuse.
With internet and photos on cell phones and GPS, this is now possible. Anyone could specify things like "no male driver", or rider. You can visually check the picture and cell phone, car, etc of the driver and rider, and if there is crime the perp is EASY to find and convict. Yes, there would be many certification levels and requirements, but it would be worth it.
Reduce oil/carbon, traffic, wear & tear, save time... great idea.
Just convert more lanes to car-pool only & people will lose their shyness.
You could even "priceline" rides with bidding on the internet. And with ebay-like feedback, people who want to drive or ride would learn to be polite & aloof. Have a nice day.
wizard1961: I really like the idea of the cell phone becoming a universal tool. Remote Control, RFID credit card, security camera interface, PDA, ...
Your idea of using the cell phone as an interface to provide for and promote paid hitch hiking is a great one. Please voice your other ideas related to using the cell phone for this purpose.
A thumb print security device can easily be incorporated into cell phones. This also provides support for a broad categories of other applications.
A Transportation Transaction (TT) service provider could promote the service on the internet interface of the cell phone. The GPS feature of the cell phone would identify the Passenger location, and the Passenger would use the internet interface to enter their desired destination. The TT Service would provide a moving map to guide the driver to the Passenger.
Rather than haggle over the price, an adjusted base price for the area would be in effect. Those Drivers wanting more would enter a base price and price per mile into their preferences. The cell phones would be linked to credit cards and the TT service provider would be the only one with access to that information.
The Passenger would enter their desired destination on their cell phone interface. The TT Service would verify the GPS location of the Passenger is immediately adjacent to a roadway. Persons more than 25 feet from a roadway would be instructed by the TT Service to stand where a vehicle can pick them up; and not process the transaction until the Passenger is in a location where they can legitimately be picked up. This helps to avoid competition with commercial taxi services where you can call for pickup at specific times.
A notice would be sent by the TT service to all participating cell phones within the Passenger area with their destination displayed and the total amount to be paid to the Driver for the transaction if accepted. All Drivers who respond within 30 seconds are displayed on the Passenger cell phone as a list, sorted by the Driver statistical profile score, price, and estimated time of arrival. The Passenger can quickly look at questionable profile scores and choose the Driver of their choice.
After the Passenger commits their credit card to the transaction, and correspondingly commits the Drivers credit card to the transaction via the TT Service, the TT Service notifies both the Driver and Passenger of the transaction being implemented.
The Driver must arrive at the GPS location of the Passenger within 200% of the estimated time enroute, or the Driver is penalized 10% of the transaction and a new request is sent out to surrounding cell phones, and a notice to the Driver that their service is no longer needed, with 5% of the agreed upon transaction deposited into the Passenger credit card.
Within 1000 feet of the Driver arriving at the GPS location, the Passenger cell phone is rung by the TT service to notify them of the pending arrival of the Driver. This allows people to stand out of the weather until the Driver gets close.
Upon arriving at the GPS location within the time agreed, the Passenger enters the license plate of the vehicle into the TT service, verbally verifies the destination, and boards the vehicle. If the TT service notes that the vehicle does not match the Driver, the transaction is terminated, the Passenger is advised to find alternative transportation, and the Driver is reported to the police. This prevents car theft for commercial use.
Alternatively, the Passenger can cancel the transaction for any reason at a cost of 10% of the agreed upon rate. The Drivers record is annotated and pushed lower on the priority list and at any time the Passenger can note why they chose to cancel the transaction. If the Passenger does not continue on to their destination, then the notation is removed from the Drivers record and the Driver is awarded 10% of the agreed upon rate. A notation is put in the Passenger record and their priority for pickup is reduced and a standard notation is annotated for "changed their mind".
A statistical profile is kept for each Passenger and Driver so that within one minute of a Passenger request for pickup, and the Drivers responding, the Passenger can select which Driver suits them based on the profile statistics, price, and ETA.
After the Passenger and Driver get on the road, a moving map guides the Driver to the Passenger location. If the Driver deviates from the route by more than one missed turn, then the TT Service calls the Driver AND Passenger to verify their safety. If the Driver or Passenger fails to respond to the TT Service questions, then the Driver is notified to stop, the Passenger is notified to exit the vehicle, and each party is charged 50% of the transaction until the specifics are sorted out. If the Driver fails to stop or the Passenger fails to get out of the vehicle, the police are notified and vectored to the Drivers vehicle. If the Driver AND Passenger verifies that a detour was required for road construction or additional passenger pickup, then the TT Service follows up periodically to ensure Passenger and Driver safety.
Correspondingly, Drivers can select whom they choose to pickup based upon Passenger profile statistics.
Keep in mind all this happens in software. The user simply selects stored destinations or enters one, and the Driver simply sees if the destination corresponds with their own. While the software guides both the Driver and Passenger effortlessly.
If Google and/or Apple got behind this idea and gave it a push (by integrating it with Google's maps and Google Earth and Apple's iPhone), it could come to fruition. Especially now that gas prices are up.
There ought to be a shadow system in place that the authorities could activate in an emergency situation, primarily when evacuation is needed. At that point, certain pre-authorized emergency drivers would be "deputized" to go into action.