New guaranteed ride service spurs confident participation in go520 pilot
Avego’s go520 real-time ridesharing project took another step towards building a “critical mass” of users with the launch of frequent guaranteed ride services along the busy Capitol Hill to Overlake Transit Center corridor between Seattle and the Microsoft Campus.
The success of real-time ridesharing depends on having enough drivers and riders looking to share rides at a given moment to give users a reasonable expectation that they’ll find a match. Critical mass doesn’t happen overnight, and until it’s reached, there’s a good chance that drivers and riders seeking a match won’t be successful.
In the first phase, over 1,000 participants in the Seattle area signed up for the go520 project. In the last two weeks, the project launched its second phase, providing guaranteed ride service to provide confidence and a steady stream of available services to all users.
Operating 10 times a day between Capitol Hill and the Overlake Transit Center, the new guaranteed service runs up to every 15 minutes during peak hours, and allows riders to try real-time ridesharing, knowing that a guaranteed ride is available if they don’t get a match. Dozens of commuters have already taken advantage of the service, with many more expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.
The guaranteed ride service is of particular benefit to the many Microsoft employees who commute from downtown Seattle to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond.
Riders in the Seattle area are encouraged to use the “Ride” button on the Avego Driver iPhone app, or to enter the URL “m.avego.com” on Windows Phone 7 or other smartphones, to see the hundreds of available scheduled services in their area.
For the latest news and information about Avego’s go520 Real-time Ridesharing program, click here.