Need a Ride? Facebook Unveil Patent for Rideshare Service for Events

Daily Mail

It seems that Facebook is eager to get a wheel in the transport market. At the end of last year we reported on their partnership with Uber that allows Americans to order a ride without having to leave the messenger app. It seems pretty useful if, like many people, you're arranging an event using a chat and trying to get ready to leave. However that isn't the only step they're making into transportation. Information was released a couple of weeks back about Facebook buying the domains ending in .auto and .car, then at the end of last week, they released a patent for a ride sharing platform that tied in with their events pages.

If this patent is created and turned into a working service then it could be pretty helpful. What Facebook have shown they plan to do is that on the event you'll be able to choose if you're attending and driving or if you're attending and need a lift. If you're driving then you can select how many people you can bring with you and who you wish to see your invite. If you want to invite anyone in particular then there's an option for that as well as being able to put where you're leaving from. People who need a ride will be able to see who is offering rides. When the system is trying to match people up it won't just focus on location and event information but also personal information such as political affiliation and music tastes to try and make the journey as comfortable as possible for everyone on it. The only problem with that is that you could still dislike them even if you are technically friends with them. Everyone has people they're friends with on the site that they actually avoid in real life for a reason and unfortunately Facebook are unable to take that into account, so if they're your only possible ride then you're kind of stuck.

Daily Mail

Once you're on the journey then Facebook will show a map presenting you with the best route for you to take. It could possibly give you an estimated travel time but there isn't much information on whether it would take note of traffic delays and so on, though it's probably safe to assume that they will.

Daily Mail

For people not driving or asking to be driven there may be an option where you can say what public transport you're taking. This would allow Facebook to know who is getting what from where so they can suggest you catch a certain train or bus as someone else attending the event will also be riding it. This could be good if you don't know where you're going and someone else does as it means you can group together.

Other than the drawings that were made public with the patent there's no other information on this. The fact is Facebook could still choose to not build the service; they just might not want any third party developers to have the option to do so. However with all the news coming out and Facebook's plans to make 2016 a big year I think we'll see a test run coming out by the end of the year at least. No promises though.


Rosina Brooker

Rosina is a Songbird rookie with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is hoping that Content Writing will turn out to be a good career choice in the mean time! Follow her @RosinaAtSMF

Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info: TheSMFGroup.com