BlaBlaCar became, long ago, the quintessential application for trips sharing vehicles . This has its good things and its bad things, but, in the end, it is backed by seniority, the number of users who use it and the fact that it remains highly popular even though there is a lot of competition.
To whom the company prefers, others like the exclusivity of traveling in a private vehicle, you may simply not be able to afford a more expensive trip … There are many reasons that may lead you to want to use this app, of course and, of course, we want you to do it, but with knowledge.
For this reason, we are going to tell you what exactly BlaBlaCar is, how it works and what advantages and disadvantages you can find. In addition, we propose other alternatives so that you can weigh which one can be better for you and choose the one that makes you feel more comfortable.
Index:
What is Blablacar and what is it for?
BlaBlaCar is a digital service (includes both mobile app and website to make use of its services) shared vehicle of French origin that appears in 2009. It consists of letting you know the route you are going to take with your vehicle as a driver so that other users can be your passengers contributing an amount of money as expenses.
Seen the other way around, it is a service that allows you to find drivers who make the same trip you want to do (or very similar), being able to hire a place in your vehicle > in exchange for the stipulated price.
In this way, people with free seats in their vehicles and users who need to be passengers get in touch . Some parameters are established and a quantity of information is given to be able to find the most accurate routes and so that users know more about each other.
The result is the organization of a joint trip that goes much cheaper. It is important to note that it is a way to share a car and expenses and that there is no compensation or payment for the driver , so that the Law 17/1986 is complied with of Land Transportation Management , prohibiting payment for transporting people in private vehicles without prior permission.
Advantages
- The trip you make will be much cheaper than using any means of transport.
- You can make and receive concessions , for example , leave someone at a point closer to their destination than the bus or train station would be.
- The planet also wins . If we compare this method of travel compared to traveling in our vehicle, we see that the fuel that we would all use is obviously reduced, and with it, the polluting emissions.
- The destinations are quite specific . There are events that many people go to and, despite being badly located or requiring special schedules, you will find who takes you, as there are many people who, like you will attend that same event.
- Communication with users . If you are going to arrive 5 minutes late you can let us know, and they can cordially wait for you; The train does not wait, the bus does not, and the plane does not even tell you! You can also say that your father has failed you and cannot bring you closer to the agreed point to see if they can go after you. Anyway, there is a communication between driver and passengers that allows, if desired by both parties, give some flexibility .
- Something very good about this application is that It has insurance against accident , something that we can think of very well that has a very user character.
Disadvantages
- Of course, and having already been cases of unpleasant episodes, we have to remember that you never know who you are going to find or what state it will be. You are dealing with individuals and nobody has responsibility for anyone, so that, after all, you get into a stranger’s car. You can find a rude person, someone inconsiderate or in real danger.
- You must make the payment in advance . Obviously, this brings security to the driver, because before it was not done in this way and the seedlings were constant. However, we must consider that not everyone uses cards or PayPal, which are the options that are allowed, at the moment, in the app.
- To avoid cancellation by the passenger we have advance payment , yes, but … what about the driver? It is true that from the app they put on bad things and they tell you that they take into account the fact that you cancel your trip, especially if it is with little margin time, but that’s it; passengers are left without a trip, which not only means they have to wait for their payment to be refunded (already made) but it is a total folly because it is very possible that, with a few days of difference, do not find a way to go where you planned and, if you do, this is surely very expensive , something that you may not be able to assume. This is, or you move in another way or you lose what you were going to do at your destination (hotel, tickets to places you were to visit, etc). In short, the driver cancels his trip if he wants to and there you stay.
- It is a bit cumbersome to work with the locations , asking for accuracy.
- A filter is really necessary that allows us to search for trips in days and nearby locations and, of course, without having to enter a time. The journeys are very poorly filtered for this reason and there are really many people who are flexible in terms of dates and even places of collection and destination.
- For some years, the application has been substantially commission . For example, for a trip Alicante-Barcelona bag 5 euros per passenger, and that if the driver chooses the minimum contribution. Obviously, we are not against this, but it turns out to be quite high in this case.
How does Blablacar work?
Let’s see the four basic aspects that you should know and that are the essence of this application to share vehicles during your trips.
Registration and configuration
Once you open the application for the first time you are asked to indicate your country. After that, you must log in or register. If you don’t have an account, you have the option to register with your Facebook data or in a traditional way , with your email account.
Simply fill out a standard form that ends with verification via mobile phone. Once inside, access your profile from the corresponding button in the silhouette, lower right, to include your data and preferences .
Create trip
If you are the one who puts the vehicle and drives, you can create your trip as follows:
- Click on the two quotation marks icon (« Travel «), bottom left.
- Click on the button « Publish > «.
- In the screen that appears you must enter the address from where you will leave . Go writing and choose, from the list of suggested, the one that corresponds.
- Now do the same with the destination.
- You will be asked if you want to incorporate cities of step so that people from those locations can see your trip and connect to it. Indicate the ones you want or write them down if they do not appear in the list.
- Press « Confirm «.
- Popular places are offered to make stops at the Selected towns and cities. Click on “ See ” at each of the points.
- A map of the area and the options to choose that stop or change to another will appear. That is already your choice.
- Once the stops are selected, click on « Confirm «.
- Now it is time to enter the departure date You have a calendar in which you simply have to press on the correct day.
- Then you must set the departure time.
- Click on the down arrow button to the right.
- Now you will be asked about the number of passengers, the type of reservation and the price , indicating a contribution calculated by the app but that you can change by clicking on « I’m not ok «. Change the price or not and click on « Continue «.
- You can also include the return if you are going to do it and want to take advantage of the route. You will have to put day and time and, if you wish, add a comment about your trip, for example, if you allow smoking, if you are going to take an animal, the capacity of the trunk …
- You only have to press about « Publish «. Your trip will already be visible to all users.
- Remember that the more information provided in the profile, the more details will appear in your journey and, therefore, the more users will know and more they will trust you to choose you as driver.
Modify trip
If you have created a trip and want to modify it, delete it or manage it, you can do it from « Travel «, the quotation marks icon. The trips you have scheduled to drive will appear here.
Down to the right of each one there is a button with three dots , it is the options menu, if you press it you will find that you can “Manage”, “Edit”, “Duplicate” or “Delete” .
Search for travel
If you need someone to take you:
- Click on « Search «, the magnifying glass icon.
- Then, enter the place of departure in the box which puts “ From “.
- Then, the destination you want to go to “ A “. li >
- Then you will have to enter the date .
- Click now on « Search «.
- The different ones will appear Available options. Click on the one of your interest to see more details.
- You can talk to the driver by clicking on « Contact ..: «. There a chat will open so you can ask all your questions.
- If you are interested in hiring that route, once you leave the chat, click on « Continue «.
- You will choose the number of places to book.
- Then you will see the details and proceed to pay .
- You can use card or PayPal To do this, you will have to fill in the form with your payment details.
- You will be asked if you are sure. Once you accept, your reservation will be made.
- Once the trip is finished, you can rate it, including the driver , and these valuations will be visible to other users, so that can know the kindness, reliability, punctuality, etc.
List of the 8 best applications to share similar trip to Blablab Android and iPhone
Of course, we will not leave without giving you other similar options or tools or alternatives to BlaBlaCar so you have to choose based on what interests you in particular. Let’s see some available for Android, iOS or both.
SoMo
SoMo is an app focused on traveling or meeting acquaintances although, of course, we can extrapolate it to our interest: move around sharing a vehicle. We achieve this with the option of « Create trip » with which you have.
You add a location, the route is shown to you (including public transportation options) , you set date and time and invite the people in question . BlaBlaCar is not the same in this regard, because it is a program that works with users of your network of contacts, who are the ones you can invite.
Mokmok
Basically is used to move around the city, looking for those who share a similar route , for example, to go to university, to work, etc. However, it is very likely that you will find routes to polygons, nearby towns and institutions. This is exclusive to iOS .
To my car
It’s a very interesting newborn app because it allows you to create a route or search for it , just as many and many do, but also has its events tab , the which are supposed to have a lot of impact and where you can place your trip if you are going to go and, of course, where to look if you need a ride,
Otoocar
This application is chosen for those who are going to attend (and share their vehicle with others) to specific events and places , for example, airports, congresses, parties, festivals …
You have filters , of course, for that type of trip, but also to go in cars only with girls, to filter vehicles by degree of comfort, to search for users by score or that the options appear to you by price. At the moment only is available for Android.
Gou!
Gou gives you the option of choosing a destination to search for available trips but also shows you the destinations that are most in demand for you , of course, the trips available on a nearby radio .
Of course, you can also create your itinerary if you are a driver and it will appear to users who do related searches.
JoinUp Taxi
This is a little different because it is not the users who put their vehicle and drive it but it is a way of filling the taxis of a lifetime, joining different users to make a single journey that includes the desired destinations.
Amovens
Different from everything we’ve seen, this application allows you to put your car for rent, in an area, for a price per hour and kilometer , so that another user rents it and can do your travel quietly; A car rental service. It can be used on both iOS and Android,
SocialCar
This is another program like the previous one, which allows you to rent your car when you don’t use it and have someone else use it to meet your needs . It is sold as a collaborative platform, so here you will always find adjusted prices.