Family in Taos launches rideshare app tailored to rural New Mexico
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TAOS, N.M. — While rideshare apps work in urban areas like Santa Fe and Albuquerque, it doesn’t work as well for people in rural New Mexico areas, such as Taos.
That’s what inspired Neha Pant and her husband to develop Tripcarma.
“We are a rural community. Uber and Lyft usually work really well in high-density population areas because there is more demand for it. There’s a quick turnaround and the drivers can get between 10 to 20 rides a day. Or maybe more sometimes,” explained Neha Pant, the cofounder of Tripcarma.
The Pant family are longtime Taos residents. They say that just because they’re rural doesn’t mean there isn’t a need for a more reliable rideshare service.
“I realize that we have an aging population. We have elders in our community. People could have car issues, doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping or haircuts. Because we are sparsely populated and distances are large, we don’t really have reliable transportation,” Neha Pant said.
While rideshare apps work in urban areas, it doesn't work as well in more rural areas. A family in Taos wants to change that.
She and her husband came up with the solution. It’s Tripcarma, a rideshare platform primarily serving the people of Taos.
“It’s basically a rideshare program, just like Uber, but locally out of Taos, just so our community can have another option of transportation,” Pant explained.
Tripcarma isn’t an app. It’s a website and, like any rideshare service, you put where you need to be picked up and dropped off.
While this is for Taos residents to get around town, drivers can also take them to Santa Fe or Albuquerque.
“Because a lot of our community members have to go their doctor’s appointments, any other appointments or errands that they have to run to Santa Fe or maybe even go to the Albuquerque airport,” she said.
Tripcarma launched last week with about six drivers. Neha Pant says their drivers get to keep 80% of the ride price.
During their first weekend, they said quite a few people rode with them. In the near future, they hope to expand outside of Taos.
Watch the video above or click here to learn more.