While Americans enjoy the convenience of apps like Lyft and Uber,
Europeans have embraced another share service app—BlaBlaCar—which pairs travelers together
to save money and lessen the monotony of a road trip. Since 2006, BlaBlaCar has
expanded to eleven different European countries, where consumers can connect
with others in need of affordable transportation or company (users have
profiles with reviews, personal and travel information, and even indicators of
their chattiness—hence the BlaBla). Like Uber and Lyft, BlaBla’s success lies
largely in its low cost, which is often more affordable than public
transportation. In addition, drivers can only charge their companions a fixed
price for gas upfront (from which BlaBla takes its percentage), thereby
eliminating abuse from drivers looking to make a profit as with other share
services. Although BlaBla does not have any plans to expand to the US soon, it
could be a sign of the future for the growing sharing economy
across the globe.
