Mapflow's Avego is a service for mobile devices -- starting with the iPhone -- that will attempt to pair up passengers and drivers, using a combination of GPS location, messaging and a web interface to help plan out trips. Passengers will be automatically billed for gas money, and will be able to plan trips out ahead of time or request one at the moment that they need it. As good ideas go, Avego is pretty high on the list. Few things as common as car ownership in the United States, but many are interested in ditching their ride in favor of alternate options. Recent statistics have shown that fewer young people are getting licenses.
But for a trip within a city, having someone pay you some spare change to cover the gas cost for going a few blocks isn't likely to attract a lot of drivers. Luckily, there are some options that should make the service more driver-friendly, like being able to restrict passengers to only kids from the same college you go to, or to women only for female drivers. Both drivers and passengers can also rate each other. Whether it proves successful or not, Mapflow is only one of a new generation of startups aiming for alternatives to car ownership. There is also HopStop, which helps schedule public transportation, Intrago, which wants to set up bike rental stations in cities, and several other ridesharing applications, including GreenRide, NuRide and RideStation.