PickupPal

PickupPal Online Incorporated
Industry Carpooling & Ridesharing
Founded 2007
Headquarters Ottawa, Ontario & St. Michael, Barbados
Key people
 John Stewart, Founder
Eric Dewhirst, Founder
Website pickuppal.com

PickupPal Online Incorporated is a free online ridesharing service, that allows its members to coordinate carpooling and ridesharing activities around the world.

History

PickupPal was founded in 2007 by John Stewart and Eric Dewhirst in Ontario, Canada. The idea was to create an online community that would leverage social networking tools in an effort to assist drivers and passengers to find each other online. The website was launched on January 15, 2008. PickupPal's competitors include Zimride and GoLoco.org.

Legal challenges

In July 2008 Trentway-Wagar, a regional bus company requested that the Ontario Highway Transportation Board (OHTB) order PickupPal to cease providing service within Ontario. PickupPal launched an online petition to lobby the Ontario Provincial Government to have the definition of a carpool vehicle amended to all carpool vehicles to cross municipal boundaries and that the restriction that all travel be limited to home and work exclusively. On October 15. 2008 PickupPal and Trentway-Wagar defended their positions before the OHTB and subsequently on November 6, 2008 the OHTB found in favor of Trentway-Wagar. On October 28, 2008 the Minister of Transportation tabled an amendment to the definition of a carpool vehicle that would allow operations like PickupPal to continue to operate in the province.

As of 2009 the Ontario government voted in favour of Bill 118 which amends the Public Vehicle Act to not include carpool vehicles.

See also

References


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