Q: What is ridepenguin?
A: ridepenguin is a website that seeks to match up riders heading in the same direction. We are focused on helping people share taxi cabs to and from the airport to reduce the cost of cab rides and CO2 emissions. All routing matches are made by "the penguin."
Q: How does ridepenguin tell me when there is a match?
A: When you broadcast a ride you will get a text from the penguin with a link back to your ride. If there is a match you will be texted about it. You can then see your ride and send messages to the other rider(s). If you wish, you can send them your phone number if more coordination is needed.
Q: Can I use ridepenguin on my phone? On my computer?
A: Yes. ridepenguin is available for both desktop computers and mobile phones with web browsers. For rides home, the ideal time to use ridepenguin is right when your flight lands and you are allowed to turn on your phone.
Q: What airports are covered by ridepenguin?
A: Currently, only SeaTac Airport, in Seattle, Washington and McCarran airport, in Las Vegas, Nevada are covered in this initial release. We are looking at supporting other airports in the future.
Q: When will ridepenguin work at my airport?
A: We don't have a timeline for supporting additional airports, but we are interested in your feedback. Please
let us know if you would like ridepenguin to come to your airport!
Q: If I share a ride to the airport who calls for the cab?
A: We encourage the original ride broadcaster to call for the cab at the right time and coordinate the pickup. This process is guided by the website.
Q: How should we split the cab fare?
A: You and the other riders should decide on something that seems fair. We highly encourage that you collectively tip higher than a normal cab ride. We believe that taxi drivers work very hard and they should get some of the benefit of the shared ride. This way it's good for everyone!
Q: Does ridepenguin give out my information?
A: Never! The only information other riders will see is the display name you broadcast with (if you say "John Smith" riders will see your name as "John S.") as well as any additional messages you decide to send to the other riders.
Q: What guarantees are there, what are the terms of service?
A: Although we hope to make it more, ridepenguin is a prototype project, so we can't make any guarantees. We invite users to try the service at their own risk.
Q: Who made ridepenguin?
A: ridepenguin is made by Jason Prado and Ben Eidelson from
everythingIsTheBest. One of our interests is using mobile phones to make transportation a better experience. Feel free to contact us
via email if you have any feedback about ridepenguin. We'd love to hear how your ride went!
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