SideCar Brings Instant Ridesharing to Seattle

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 2, 2012) - Leave your car keys at home Seattle. SideCar, the leading on-demand rideshare community, expands its popular service to Seattle November 2 bringing a convenient, affordable, safe and fun way to get around the city. SideCar uses mobile technology to instantly connect everyday drivers who have a car with people nearby looking for a ride. SideCar launched in San Francisco last June and has grown to be the Bay Area's most successful rideshare network with nearly 500 drivers facilitating more than 50,000 rides.

During the initial launch phase, SideCar will be available for drivers and riders in and around downtown Seattle on Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm-2am. Expanded hours and days will follow as the community grows.

"Seattle's tech savvy populace and culture of innovation make this city the logical next choice to accelerate the crowdsourced transportation movement," said Sunil Paul, CEO SideCar. "We look forward to rapidly growing our Seattle community and becoming the city's top choice for safe and reliable transportation, as well as a fun way to connect with others."

SideCar's free mobile application is available for download for riders via the App Store for iPhone and GooglePlay for Android users. Drivers can sign up to be part of the community at www.side.cr/drive.

How SideCar Works
Riders place a request for an instant rideshare by setting a pick-up and drop off location via the app. Once the request is accepted, they can view the driver approaching in real-time and see the driver's estimated time of arrival. Unique to SideCar, riders have the option to share their progress and ETA with family and friends by text, email and in social media. When the ride is complete riders may make a voluntary donation to their driver via the SideCar app. No cash is exchanged. The app aggregates and displays the current community average donations for similar rides, offering riders an easy way to decide how much to donate. Riders are prompted to rate their driver at the end of their ride.

Drivers, who have passed a screening process for safety, log in to the app when they are available to offer a ride and receive an alert when a rider submits a rideshare request. Drivers can accept the rider's request via the app and call them to let them know they are on their way. Drivers also have opportunity to rate their experience with the rider at the conclusion of the ride. Donations made to drivers by riders are deposited directly into the driver's bank account. Drivers have found that participation in the SideCar community is a great way to help cover the costs of vehicle ownership.

About SideCar
SideCar (Side.cr), the leading on-demand rideshare community, connects everyday drivers who have a car with people nearby who are looking for a convenient, affordable, safe and fun way to get around the city. Founded in 2012, SideCar has facilitated over 50,000 rides in San Francisco. The company's investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Google Ventures, Spring Ventures, Huron River Ventures, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures and others. The free mobile application is available for download for riders via the App Store for iPhone and GooglePlay for Android users. Drivers can sign up to be part of the community at www.side.cr/drive.