Victoria Carter, co-founder of Cityhop was in Wellington talking to a few councillors on how car share works. When the meeting ended she went to get a cab to go to the airport. Outside the Council was a cab waiting so she asked the driver if he was free.
Victoria says, “The driver asked me if I was Adams going to the airport, I said no but I’ll wait and see if I can join their ride.”
It made total sense to me, there i was down on car share business, thinking about reducing congestion and emissions and here was a way to practice it.
Next thing, three people come out of the building and a pumped up young man says to the driver, “You waiting for Adams.”
I stepped in and asked if they would be willing to share the ride since I too, was going to the airport. You should have seen the look of disgust suddenly cross his face!
Then a funny thing happened, the Wellington City staffer said,”What a good idea, share the ride half the cost. It works for everyone.”
So off we went, although I felt he was most annoyed. I thanked him and began to explain how relevant it was to my day. He wasn’t listened. He began whispering to his colleague in the back seat about their meeting – something to do with the Christchurch earthquake, insurance, Cabinet papers, whether she had read them; no she only proofed them. His colleague spoke about how inadequate she felt because she said almost nothing at meetings…. and thankfully we arrived at the airport!
I thanked them for letting me share the ride, handed over some cash and wondered as she filled out a taxi chit what they would do with my cash!
It makes so much sense to cab share. How often when a plane arrives in Wellington have I wished someone would say anyone want to share a ride to Lambton Quay because I have no doubt many of us are heading in a similar direction.
No doubt those who fly to Auckland feel a bit the same. Although most travellers to Wellington are heading into its compact city centre.
Then I read about cab-sharing in New York and how it is slowly getting accepted.
“We only need to look to Zipcar to realize that brand, design, and a good system can change people’s perceptions around sharing. Indeed, for some New Yorkers, proclaiming you are a “Zipster” is as important and carries as much cache as the latest iPhone. We can do the same with cab-sharing.
“I think people worry that asking if they can taxi share makes them look mean! I’m more interested in reducing the number of cars on the road, reducing emissons and waste. It makes sense to share and who knows how much more interesting it could make your day!
