{"id":3558,"date":"2017-02-02T17:57:03","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T22:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/blablacar-disrupting-road-travel-by-trusted-carpooling\/"},"modified":"2017-02-02T17:57:03","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T22:57:03","slug":"blablacar-disrupting-road-travel-by-trusted-carpooling","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/blablacar-disrupting-road-travel-by-trusted-carpooling\/","title":{"rendered":"BlaBlaCar \u2013 Disrupting road travel by Trusted carpooling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BlaBlaCar has disrupted the road travel<\/strong>! Let’s see how.<\/p>\n

One of the companies to enter the list of Unicorns<\/strong>, BlaBlaCar is the world’s largest long-distance ridesharing community. With 40 million members<\/strong>, BlaBlaCar connects riders and passengers for trustworthy inter-city travel<\/strong> and share the cost of the journey.<\/p>\n

Conceived as an idea in 2004 by a guy stuck in Paris with no way to get to home to his family, BlaBlaCar was first launched in Sep 2006. In the last decade, it has raised over $310M and is currently valued at $1.5B<\/strong>. Initially launched in Paris and expanded in Europe, BlaBlaCar has recently expanded to other continents as well. India, Brazil, Turkey are just a\u00a0few countries among the emerging markets BlaBlaCar is trying to capture.<\/p>\n

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How does BlaBlaCar create value?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Essentially, BlaBlaCar is a marketplace that connects riders with empty seats with passengers looking for inexpensive travel especially at the last minute.<\/p>\n

Riders (drivers)<\/strong> are, in any case, paying for the cost of the gas and toll expenses. BlaBlaCar helps reduce the cost of their travel. It has been estimated that BlaBlaCar is helping riders save north of $250M per year.<\/p>\n

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Figure: Value proposition to riders<\/em><\/p>\n

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For passengers<\/strong>, at approx. $25 for a 200-mile ride, it offers an inexpensive travel option as compared to flights \/ trains which are pretty expensive, especially when booked at the last minute.<\/p>\n

For example, consider a trip from Geneva (Switzerland) to Paris (France). BlaBlaCar offers a price which is ~2.5x cheaper than that of <\/strong>train and 4.0x cheaper than flight<\/strong>, as depicted in the figures below. This provides a great option for passengers planning their trip at the last minute.<\/p>\n

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Figure: Comparison of Geneva-Paris travel fare by BlaBlaCar, flight and train<\/em><\/p>\n

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Apart from savings<\/strong>, BlaBlaCar rides offer\u00a0a great social experience<\/strong> (as compared to riding \/ traveling alone). It also offers transparency<\/strong> and predictability<\/strong> on prices (as compared to other cab options like Uber). BlaBlaCar also helps contribute to the environment by increasing the average car occupancy from 1.7 to 2.8 and thereby reducing traffic and emission levels. Since the rider does not have any other benefits other than cost savings, it ensures the element of trust<\/strong> in the system, which is further strengthened by two-way reviews and ratings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what customers say about BlaBlaCar:<\/p>\n