As D.C. gets more transportation options, companies are faced with distinguishing themselves in an ever filling pool. To make their mark, SideCar —a ridesharing company that arrived in D.C. in March—gave away free rides over the weekend.
SideCar’s premise is simple: Use the app to find a driver (who has undergone a background check) willing to give you a lift. You are then asked to donate to the driver when you arrive at your destination, but it’s not mandatory.
Chelsey Christensen, an actress and Development Manager for Individual Giving at Imagination Stage, was one Washingtonian who escaped this weekend’s rain and took advantage of SideCar for the first time. She told DCist she was nervous about using SideCar for the first time (as many would be when getting in a car with a stranger), but, with a storm coming, she didn’t want to wait for a bus. After putting in a second request, she received an alert that a driver named Graham would be picking her up.
“SideCar is very low key,” she wrote in an email. “I hopped into the front seat of Graham’s car and we were on our merry way. Graham and I had a great conversation about SideCar and life in D.C. all the way to Columbia Heights.”
Christenson told DCist that she did donate to Graham, despite it being a free weekend.
“Overall it was a great experience,” she said, adding that she will use the service again.
According to SideCar’s D.C. manager, Lori Noto, Saturday and Friday night were the busiest, respectively, for SideCar in D.C. since it launched March 22. More than half of people who used Sidecar this weekend were first time riders, Noto reported. According to the company, 80 percent of people ride again within a month of taking their first ride.
(SideCar declined to give specific numbers for rides taken, citing its relative newness.)
Of course, the legality of SideCar—and therefore its future in D.C.—is in question.
In a previous statement to DCist, Taxicab Commissioner Ron Linton said SideCar will be regulated: “We are concerned the private cars used to provide these services have only ordinary, non-commercial insurance that we believe may deny coverage to passengers in the event of an accident. The Commission will take legal action against any person knowingly flouting District law by connecting passengers to unlicensed vehicles or operators.”
But, as NBC 4 later reported, “Officials admitted it will be hard to enforce [regulations] without setting up a sting operation.”
As one might imagine, SideCar disagrees about regulations. SideCar CEO Sunil Paul told TechCrunch he doesn’t believe the company should be regulated on a local level because it doesn’t dispatch cars. It just matches drivers with riders, he said.
Margaret Ryan, Sidecar’s vice president of communications, told DCist, “We have been in touch with both D.C.’s Taxicab Commission officials and council members about the benefits of ridesharing in D.C. and SideCar.” She did not offer any further information.
