Everyone hates traffic. And because of people whining about the seemingly hopeless cases of traffic jams, carpooling became a rising trend especially in Asian countries like Singapore, China and India. But what about the Philippines? Is our country ready for carpooling?

Carpooling basically means ride sharing services. You hitch a ride to a willing car owner and drive together towards your same destination. What does carpooling do to you, to the car owner, to the traffic jams and even to the environment?

Carpooling or ride sharing services has many real benefits. First of all, you can find a new car buddy. You don’t have to ride anymore crowded public transportation’s. Pretty convenient for the hitch hiker. How about the car owner? As a responsible car buddy hitch hiking a ride, you should share with the car owner a little fee for the gasoline.

As for the traffic jams, it will be minimized. If you are a car owner and you really don’t feel like driving that much, you can hitch a ride to other car owners. If you don’t drive your car, there will be lesser traffic. Lesser cars also mean lesser pollution.

However, in carpooling lies the issue of trust. Why would a car owner let a stranger in for a ride and travel together? Most people just don’t trust anybody especially this day and age where crimes are prevailing. To put an end to that problem, a few Philippine startups have built carpooling services wherein you can find your trusted carpooling buddy.

Tripid.ph – Dubbed as Find Better Ways to Get Around, Tripid.ph is an online service that helps people to get around the city. Tripid.ph aims to solve the traffic congestion with their platform. Their carpooling services bring together drivers and passengers going the same way. Tripid connects both drivers and passengers to have a safer ride. Aside from that, carpooling is more convenient and more affordable. Tripid live up to its name as to having a tipid trip.

Ridefind.ph – another Philippine startup that guides you to find your carpooling buddy. Aldrich Anderson, co-founder of Ridefind described their service as a cost-effective carpooling community with a twist of fun. Ridefind offers fun since its users can have connections and have a little chat in their community. But before you become a part of the growing community of Ridefind, you need to undergo a three-point verification process. Safety is the company’s priority. We all know for a fact that building up trust is essential in carpooling. Ridefind also encourages their members to fill out their profile and to include their interests. It is much fun if you have a carpool buddy with similar interests.

Ridein.com.ph – Dubbed as Commuting. More Fun in the Philippines, Ridein is still making its way to become one of every commuter’s guide in finding a carpool buddy. Ridein also aims to ease the traffic problems here in the Philippines especially in Metro Manila. Ridein does not stop itself from improving and its team is working with all their might to deliver the best carpooling app.

Is Philippines ready for carpooling? We can say that our country is still getting ready for it, but showing a lot of progress with the help of local startups. Carpooling won’t be a bad idea for every Pinoy commuter. It’s an alternative to have a smoother ride. However, carpooling startups should still find ways on how to convince the Filipino people. The issues of trust and safety are not easy to solve.