Since all the controversy last week over the running and using of carpooling services, BlaBlaCar, which is legal as it doesn’t make a profit, has now made changes in the way customers pay and reserve their journey.
Users must now make the reservation online, which cannot be made until the user pays for the trip – also online – although this will be done at the end of the journey.
BlaBlaCar will now charge a commission, the same as the BlaBlaCar France service, which is 10% of the fee established by the driver, plus 21% VAT. So, for a 20 euro journey, a 2-euro commission will be added plus 0,42 euro VAT, making a total of 22,42 euro.
Another novelty is the fact that it is now not possible to arrange the journey directly with the driver, as was the case before. The driver’s contact details have been removed, so users cannot contact the driver directly via SMS message or phone.
If any consultations are to be made, they are now done publicly on the site where everyone can see them, and are only published after being checked by a moderator previously.
These changes have partially been made in order to improve the organisation of the journeys and to prevent people not turning up after arrangements have been made or last-minute cancellations.
So what happens now if you don’t go ahead with an organised car journey? If you cancel giving 24-hours’ notice, you will be refunded 50% of the fee and the driver will receive this 50% for not travelling with him or her.
BlaBlaCar is certain that this new method of payment and organisation will cut cancellations and non-shows by 90%, thus improving the service for its drivers.
For the passenger, on the other hand, using BlaBlaCar can be relied upon as a professional scheme, with secure methods of payment, up-to-date information about available passenger seats etc. As soon as the payment has been made, that seat is automatically removed from the site.
Passengers can also look up and refer to the driver’s profile, which gives their photo, name and age.
Last year, more than 5 million people used BlaBlaCar, and whilst countries like France have also started charging a commission and VAT, BlaBlaCar works, and is allowed to work, perfectly well as a free car-sharing service.
Source: www.antena3.com, www.motorpasion.com
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