Poparide
Poparide is a Vancouver-based intercity carpooling marketplace connecting individual drivers with empty seats to passengers traveling between cities across Canada, operating as a non-commercial cost-sharing platform with 2M+ cumulative users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Poparide does
Poparide, operated by HitchPlanet Online Inc., is a Canadian intercity carpooling marketplace founded in 2014 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The platform connects drivers who have empty seats in their personal vehicles with passengers seeking affordable transportation between cities, operating across every Canadian province and territory on hundreds of routes. The service explicitly positions itself as non-commercial cost-sharing (trip contributions are capped at 20 cents per kilometre, intended only to cover fuel, insurance, and maintenance), which exempts drivers from commercial licensing, commercial insurance, and GST/HST collection that apply to commercial rideshare operators such as Uber and Lyft. The company has accumulated over 2 million users since launch, with strong consumer satisfaction signals (4.8-star ratings on both the Apple App Store with ~25k reviews and Google Play with ~8k reviews).
The core product is a two-sided marketplace accessible via a responsive website and native iOS and Android applications. Drivers post trips with up to five stops and recurring scheduling (up to 100 trips in six months), while passengers search, request, or instantly book seats with online-only payments. Underlying technology relies on third-party infrastructure rather than proprietary systems: Stripe handles payment processing (PCI Service Provider Level 1) and Canadian bank payouts via Stripe Connect, PayPal supports international driver payouts, and Persona performs biometric identity verification plus driver license validation (biometric data retained for six months then deleted). Real-time messaging, review/reputation systems, and a $5 referral program round out the platform layer. There is no public API, no SDK, and no disclosed machine-learning or AI capabilities.
Poparide generates revenue through two transaction-based fees. Passengers pay a service (booking) fee added on top of the trip contribution at booking time, with the exact percentage undisclosed. Drivers are charged a 3% payout fee plus 5% GST (3.15% total) deducted from their payout, illustrated as a 63-cent deduction on a $20 booking. Distribution is exclusively self-serve through the website and mobile apps, with no enterprise sales, physical locations, or resellers. Marketing relies on community-led growth, organic social media (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X/Twitter), blog content targeting route searches, app store optimization, and a referral program capped at 500 referrals per member.
Poparide firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Poparide
- Legal name
- HitchPlanet Online Inc.
- Website
- https://poparide.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Poparide is a Vancouver-based intercity carpooling marketplace connecting individual drivers with empty seats to passengers traveling between cities across Canada, operating as a non-commercial cost-sharing platform with 2M+ cumulative users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Poparide industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Carpooling Marketplace
- NAICS
- Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310)
- SIC
- Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Intercity / Long-Distance Ride-Hailing & Carpool Platforms (TLAFAIAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ride-Hailing & Taxi Aggregation Platforms (BPAMAIAE), Ridepooling & Shared Rides (Dynamic Carpooling) (THAIAGAC)
Keywords
Where Poparide is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Poparide business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Booking Fee: Poparide charges a service fee (Booking fee) added on top of the Trip contribution, paid by the Passenger at the time of Booking. The exact percentage is not publicly disclosed to accommodate tax and fee fluctuations. This is the primary revenue stream from passengers.
- Payout Fee: Poparide deducts a 3% payout fee plus 5% GST (total 3.15%) from driver payouts. For example, on a $20 booking, 63 cents is deducted, leaving the driver with $19.37. This is the primary revenue stream from drivers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Trip Contribution (Cost-Sharing) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Booking Fee (Platform Service Fee) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Payout Fee (Driver Fee) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Poparide product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Poparide operates a two-sided online carpooling marketplace that connects individual drivers with empty vehicle seats to passengers seeking affordable intercity transportation across Canada. Drivers post trips and recover only their vehicle operating costs (gas, insurance, maintenance) capped at 20 cents per kilometre, while passengers book seats through a website or mobile app with secure online payments and identity-verified drivers.
Product overview
Poparide operates as a unified carpooling marketplace offering both a web platform and mobile applications. The core Poparide Platform connects drivers with available vehicle seats to passengers seeking rides on the same routes across Canada. This is complemented by dedicated iOS and Android native applications that provide the same functionality in a mobile-first format. The ecosystem includes features for trip posting, booking management, secure online payment processing via Stripe, payout systems via bank account (Stripe) or PayPal, identity verification through Persona, and a comprehensive safety and review system.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Poparide Carpooling Platform (Web) A Canadian two-sided carpooling marketplace accessible via web browser at poparide.com, connecting individual drivers with empty seats to passengers seeking intercity transportation across Canada. Includes trip posting (up to 5 stops, recurring trips), seat booking with Stripe-based payment processing, identity-verified drivers via Persona, real-time messaging, and a community review system.
- Poparide iOS App
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 2 million people use Poparide to carpool in Canada
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Poparide
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Poparide technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature5 records
Poparide partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Poparide competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Poparide social profiles
Digital presencePoparide financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Poparide leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Poparide funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Poparide M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Poparide
What does Poparide do?
Poparide operates a two-sided online carpooling marketplace that connects individual drivers with empty vehicle seats to passengers seeking affordable intercity transportation across Canada. Drivers post trips and recover only their vehicle operating costs (gas, insurance, maintenance) capped at 20 cents per kilometre, while passengers book seats through a website or mobile app with secure online payments and identity-verified drivers.
Is Poparide a public or private company?
Poparide is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Poparide founded?
Poparide was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Poparide based?
Poparide is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Poparide make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Booking Fee is the primary driver. The others are payout Fee.
Does Poparide have an API?
No public API is recorded for Poparide.
What industry is Poparide in?
Poparide's product category is Carpooling Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAFAIAK, Intercity / Long-Distance Ride-Hailing & Carpool Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAMAIAE, Ride-Hailing & Taxi Aggregation Platforms. Its NAICS code is 485310 and its SIC code is 4100.