Ride-Sharing Apps Bring Back Car-Pooling - The New York Times

Another smartphone-powered opportunity

"In the last 15 months, Uber and Lyft have introduced shared rides in Austin, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington through UberPool and Lyft Line. Cars or vans sporting names like Split (sections of Washington only) Via (sections of Manhattan only) Bridj (rush hours in Boston and Washington) and Carma, which also runs in Chicago, Houston, San Diego and Seattle, also compete. Some ride-sharing apps are available internationally as well.

“They’re very specific to niche transportation needs,” said Tony Dutzik, a senior policy analyst at the Frontier Group, a research company in Boston.

The new services come after a long decline of car-pooling. According to a report released by the Census Bureau in August, car-pooling fell to a low of just over 9 percent in 2013, the last year for which figures are available, from nearly 20 percent in 1980. About 76 percent of people who traveled to work drove alone in 2013, according to the report."

Ride-Sharing Apps Bring Back Car-Pooling - The New York Times