mRides Competition Analysis

Netlift

Introduction-NetLift

A carpooling app founded in Montreal, Netlift is an app which seeks to use empty space in vehicles to transport other passengers around the area. This is an app where an individual who is using it, may become a driver or a passenger. The app also provides the ability to rate drivers as well as passengers and to view other data such as ride history and community ratings. The pricing for the application is as follows:

(pricing charts for Netlift)

Observing the interface of Netlift, the app seems to be extremely similar to other ridesharing and carpooling apps.

(In app ios screen shots of Netlift)

The app features a simple to use map which tracks the user location as well as the destination. This app has a clear and concise area for displaying an individual’s pending carpool reservation and matches. The bottom portion of the screen has lower tabs that display home and news.

Analysis-Netlift

While the app does have a very good design and interface, it appears to have a very mediocre rating on the Google Play Store. With a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, the most common complaint appears to be a lack of technical support. There also appears to be a wide range of bugs experienced by the users who do use the application.

Another potential weakness of this app is that it appears to be very Quebec centric. It offers details of insurance plans in Quebec for individuals who carpool. The same benefits may not be applicable to all states where this app might be used however. Other countries or states may not be so generous with their insurance plans. This may cause drivers to possibly move away from the app or pickup less passengers(less liability)

ToGo Carpool

Introduction-ToGo

ToGo Carpool is another application with an emphasis on carpooling in both the App Store and Google Play Store. This app performs similar functions to the Netlift app, in that it provides a platform for drivers and passengers to connect and for drivers to bring them to their requested location.

(In App screenshots of the ToGo mobile app)

The app features the ability to provide details about your preferences from the get go, as evidenced by the in app screenshots. In addition, the app also appears to give the user the ability to participate in group chat with the driver and other passengers. The ability to chat with other drivers in a different carpooling group exists as well.

Analysis-ToGo

The application appears to favor Google’s material design over Netlift’s flat UI design. This could be due to the fact that this app is only available on the Google Play store. As a result, a significant portion of the population using ios devices are being alienated. This is an extremely large weakness in the app. Furthermore, the groupchat feature in the app appears to be extremely useful in a carpooling app.

Like the Netlift app being focused in the Quebec region, it appears that the Togo Mobile app has a particular preference to India. With the main office branch in Mumbai, most of the app’s reviews also appear to come from Indians whom have used the app themselves. It appears that the ToGo mobile app is targeting Large cities within India.

Conclusions

The aim of this part of the report is to observe how other apps which are similar to mRides are being implemented. There are many carpooling apps available in the store, thus it was important to find find carpooling apps which stand more apart from the rest. The Netlift mobile app has a beautiful design while the ToGo mobile app has some features other carpooling apps should have, but don’t. The aim of this part is to help facilitate coming up with beneficial functional requirements that our application may incorporate upon release.