Paris – 25 Aug 2017
Google partners with BlaBlaCar to offer its users one of the best city-to-city travel options available. BlaBlaCar carpooling trips are now displayed directly within the Google Maps mobile app alongside other suggested available modes of transport.
An alliance to enable mobility
Alongside driving, walking, cycling and taking the train, carpooling is now displayed as a transport option on Google Maps. BlaBlaCar’s carpooling routes are now listed among the modes of transportation recommended by Google’s mapping service.
Users searching for a route on Google Maps will now be offered the carpooling option to carpool with BlaBlaCar, along with other modes of travel recommended by the mapping service. Users interested in carpooling options who already have the BlaBlaCar mobile application on their smartphone will be redirected to the results page on BlaBlaCar that corresponds with the desired route, while those who don’t already have the app will be redirected automatically to the App Store or Google Play.
Carpooling: a democratized mobility solution
The integration of carpooling as a viable transport option in Google Maps highlights just how mainstream this mode of transport has become. In less than 10 years, carpooling has become a legitimate travel option. In the summer of 2017 alone, BlaBlaCar expects to beat its own record, with 10 million seats set to be offered on the platform. This corresponds to a 50% increase in activity compared to a normal period on BlaBlaCar for instance in France.
A global collaboration
This collaboration between Google and BlaBlaCar is global, and will be progressively rolled out across BlaBlaCar’s 22 countries of operation.
[quote-author=”Philippe Cayrol, Head of Partnerships at BlaBlaCar”]“This collaboration with Google is great news for Google Maps users, who will now be able to access carpool offers from BlaBlaCar and either discover or rediscover an economic and user-friendly transport option. We are convinced that the transport of tomorrow will be seen in multimodal transport integration. Google Maps shares this same belief, and is now offering train, bus and carpooling solutions in the same place. ” [/quote]
[quote-author=”Gino Mattiuzzo, Partnership Manager at Google”]“We want to suggest the most relevant means of transport for each trip to our users. With carpooling growing rapidly, displaying BlaBlaCar offers will increase the choice of transport solutions available on the Google Maps platform. It also simplifies the process for users, who will be able to book and purchase their seats directly through the BlaBlaCar mobile app.”[/quote]
| Carpooling Benefits
Savings: Carpooling allows both passengers and drivers to share the cost of the trip and travel at a lower cost. For the Driver :
For the passenger::
Flexibility: Many departures throughout the day, all over the country. In the summer of 2016, there were a record 35,174 departure points in France – meaning there were 10 times more BlaBlaCar departure points than railway stations in France! Sharing and user-friendliness: Carpooling makes it possible to meet a diverse range of incredible people; people you might not have met in your day-to-day life, offering a host of shared experiences. |