Creating trust in Ridesharing networks
Lorenza Parisi, Magdalena Pantazi
MAS.960_Signals, Truth and Design
Instructor_ Judith Donath
Fall 2007
Ridesharing: definition and history
‘The FTA (2006) defines the ridesharing as “the act of sharing a vehicle
with one or more other people”.
We use the expression ridesharing to talk about ridesharing with cars also known as carpooling.
Ridesharing origin:
•
World War II (increase in gasoline prices encouraged the
conception of that service to save money).
•
Commercial ridesharing services since the '70s (massive use of
private cars, increasing concern for the environment and oil crisis)
‘’The average car
occupancy in the UK is
reported to be 1.59
person/car: 1.2 for
commuters and 2.1 for
holiday trips”.
Observation
Last 30 years: the number
of private vehicles has
remarkably increased
Possible Solution
Ride sharing
reduces the number
of cars on the road
increase in the
number of
unoccupied
seats
reduces
CO2 emissions
tremendous unused
transportation
capacity
positive effect on the
economy and on the
environment
How does the online ridesharing system work?
Online interface:
•
•
•
•
Create a profile.
Provide travel schedule, preferences, starting and
final destinations.
Search for a ride (rider or driver).
Select between commuting or trip.
How do the sites work?
•Many ridesharing online sites are applications of popular web sites
(e.g.Craiglist, Facebook).
• Different platforms with different degrees of automation in
matching.
•Private or public sponsors (offering free and preferred parking
spaces, discounts and other financial incentives).
•Ridesharing experiences economies of scale: the larger the
number of users in the system, the more likely it is to find a good
match.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of ridesharing
•
•
•
•
•
Reduces the number of single driver cars on the road
Reduces smog, congestion and fuel consumption.
Saves fuel - positive effect on the whole economy
Increases social interaction
Creates opportunities for increasing social capital
Disadvantages of ridesharing
•
•
•
•
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problems with security and trust
lack of flexibility.
social discomfort with sharing
possible imbalance of costs and benefits among the users
loss of time
emerging technologies:
Support
•
Internet
•
mobile phones
•
position-sensing devices (GPS)
Creation of Trust
Creation of
Dynamic ridesharing
Analyze Online Ridesharing sites using the Signaling Theory
How do Online Ridesharing Sites establish relations of trust among users?
Creating a system of reputation.
Construction of reputation requires identity, memory and communication.

Identity: individuals are not anonymous; they have some consistent
form that is recognizable over time (Online User’s Profile).

Memory: information persists over time; recognition is an aspect of
memory (Online history).

Communication: information moves from one person to another
(Online Rating System or Social Network of friends).
In the paper we will examine two online Ridesharing sites:
the NuRide.com and the Carpool application on Facebook.
NuRide.com
Which are the characteristics of NuRide.com ?
Target group: people leaving in USA (23.065 members).
Ride matches: mapping users profiles.
Ride rewards people for sharing rides: the more a user travels, the more
he/she gets incentives and discounts.
Which are the characteristics in terms of the Signaling Theory?
Identity: Provide basic information on the user’s profile and trip
preferences. Define preferences for ride’s partners.
Reliability: Check users affiliation by requiring a
corresponding email address.
Memory: The system keeps track of all the trips a user made. All
feedback information concerning the ride is visible in the user's profile. No
photo of the user is required.
Communication: Information about ride experiences is provided through a
rating system in a range from 1 to 5 about responsibility of the driver,
vehicle condition, time and considerate.
Feedback information is public and is made visible in every user’s profile.
Carpool Application on Facebook
Which are the characteristics of Carpool Application ?
Created on April 2007, has 23.000 members.
Target group: Facebook users.
Ride matches: the user selects the ride between people within the same
network. Sub communities exist within the application (e.g. MIT Ride Board,
BOSTON MA) that help people to refer to a specific network.
Which are the characteristics in terms of the Signaling Theory?
Identity: Facebook user’s profile information.
The user can add information concerning trip preferences.
Reliability: Social network of friends.
Memory: Photos or other identity signals - friends and interests - are visible
in user’s profile.
Communication: Existence of a public “space” where all users - rider and
driver - can post comments about the ride. Friends exchange information
before and after the ride.
Costs for users in NuRide.com and Carpool Application
Costs for the user to participate in the site:
Time spend while filling the profile information.
Privacy implication.
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•
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In Nuride.com
The user has to be part of an organization (company,
university, corporation).
•
•
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Costs of Deceptive signals:
Safety risks: violence, rape, kidnapping, murder.
Unpleasant ride. Mismatching of the driver-rider.
Loss of time (the driver does not leave the rider in
the promised destination or he isn't on time).
•
•
•
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Benefits for the user:
Sharing the expenses of the trip.
Free parking, free tolls.
Preferred high lanes.
Satisfaction of practicing environmental friendly
behaviors
Comparison of the two online ridesharing sites
Trust and Reputation
What motivates users to provide feedback?
What motivates users to be honest?
The two networks address the establishment of trust in different ways:
NuRide.com
Reputation system
based on rating
Carpool
Facebook
Application
Reputation system
based on
Social Network
of friends
Motivation for
feedback
Reciprocity
Rewards
Public duty
Feedback information
circulate among friends
[Hypothesis: Social Network of friends may support the creation of Trust.]
Survey on the members of the ‘MIT Ride Board’ community on Facebook
Questions to identify: user's profile, average use, aims, characteristics of the
commuting/trip, benefits and disadvantages of the system.
Focusing on trust: how does the social network influence social interaction?
Results and interpretations of the survey:
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Most members of the network (82.4%) are “would be user” of the
service.
•
People would prefer to use Carpool application (58.3%), because they
feel safer in a trusted network of friends.
•
Advantages of the system: Increase social interactions (75%).
•
Disadvantages of the system: Safety risks (58.3%) and difficulty in
matching schedules (58.3%).
Although the system seems trustful enough, members of the service do not
use it. Why?
New application, limited users, need of critical mass.
Problems with trust and coordination schedules.
How can we improve Trust in online ridesharing networks?
Design proposals for the improvement of trust
How can we increase the level of trust between users in the online
ridesharing networks?
1.
Create smaller communities/sub networks inside the system
(organization in terms of neighborhoods, working company,
education).
2.
Use emerging technology like cell phones and GPS position sensing
devices to:
•

verify the arrival at the destination
promote ad-hoc schedules (dynamic
ridesharing)
Costs: implications for privacy of the users