A group of young Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City have created an Uber-style application which allows drivers and hitchhikers to share a ride on the same route they travel.

The creators of PinBike (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

PinBike is an app created by Huynh Phuong Duy and Le Van Tai, former students of the University of Science under the Viet Nam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with Nguyen Thanh An, a former student of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology.

The app which has been available on Google Play and App Store has been downloaded nearly 1,000 times. It is meant to help reduce the number of motorbikes traveling on streets.

With the PinBike app, users can register their daily routes and those who have motorbikes will log on as drivers while hitchhikers will sign in as passengers.

PinBike enables drivers and hitchhikers who travel the same route to connect with one another and share the ride.

Co-creator Nguyen Thanh An said the difference between his app and GrabBike and Uber is that PinBike passengers do not pay drivers, or they may pay a small amount of VND2,000 (US$0.09) per kilometer.

Besides, PinBike offers an immediate evaluation and verification system which helps passengers consider and then connect with drivers through the app’s chat function.

According to the group, the app’s potential users are students and white-collar workers who often take the same routes on the way to school and work every day.

Le Van Tai, a member of the group that created the app, said their future plan is to continue building a community to share rides to halve the current number of vehicles on the street so as to save money for users, bringing more joy to them as well as protecting the environment.

(Source: Tuoi Tre News)