Three young Americans have launched in the Chinese capital a "green"
initiative to combat pollution and excessive traffic with an online and
iPhone service whereby people can share their vehicles at no cost with
others, a daily reported.
The service, called "wodache" ("I take a
car" in Mandarin), offers a technological platform connecting drivers
with potential passengers, with the former posting the route they intend
to follow and the latter indicating whether or not they want to ride
along, thus reducing traffic in the capital, South China Morning Post
reported.
The service only provides the information, and it's up
to users to select which vehicle they want to ride in or whether they
are willing to transport more passengers, and the driver retains the
right to choose whether to accept a certain passenger or not.
The platform also offers the possibility to rate the "quality" of drivers and passengers and to downgrade those who are late.
The
trio behind the initiative consists of three young Americans of Chinese
ancestry - Eric Wang, James Hu and Jeff Hsu - and they said that their
main aim is to help reduce traffic problems and pollution, although they
hope that over time, as the service gains users, they will be able to
glean a profit from it.
"Wodache" will also offer long-distance
services, for instance around the Chinese New Year when many people
return to their homes in other provinces.