Last updated: January 24, 2023
Legality of pricing
Poparide helps drivers share the costs of driving by connecting them with passengers travelling in the same direction.
To comply with local carpooling laws, drivers must ensure that their Poparide contributions do not exceed the shareable (operating) costs of their vehicle, which in most cases include gas, insurance and maintenance.
Our pricing model takes this into account, and aims to allow drivers to ask for a fair contribution on their trip based on the distance and current price of gas at the pump.
Maximum price per km
To ensure fair pricing, Poparide currently enforces a maximum price of 15 cents per kilometre.
This maximum is based on the average cost of gas in Canada and gives drivers room to ask for a higher contribution if their vehicle has a higher MPG rating.
Note that on most routes, the average price per km is lower than the maximum, typically between 12 to 15 cents per kilometre.
Recommended prices
Our mission at Poparide is to fill empty seats in cars to reduce costs and carbon emissions on each trip. This is why we provide a recommended price for each route to ensure drivers fill as many seats as possible, while staying within legal prices for carpooling.
The recommended prices on each route are based on a combination of:
- the distance from A to B and cost of driving
- the pricing data for other trips on Poparide
- the prices offered by our competition
We strongly encourage drivers to post a trip at or below the recommended price if they want to attract passengers to book. Charging too much deters passengers who will likely book with other drivers, or pick a cheaper means of transportation.