British Columbia

B.C. based HitchPlanet brings together carpooling and hitchhiking

HitchPlanet owner Flo Devellennes want his company to bring the best of hitchhiking and carpooling together to help transport people across the province.

Service has grown to include 80 different B.C. communities

B.C.-based HitchPlanet offers alternative transportation for city-to-city travel (Getty Images)

Have you ever wished you could offer your empty seat to someone, but didn't know how to get a passenger? Or perhaps, you'd like to hitchhike, but think it's unsafe?

A B.C. company thinks it's found the perfect solution. HitchPlanet is a carpooling service that lets commuters with spare seats take strangers along with them.

"If you're driving somewhere and you've got extra seats in your vehicle, you can post them for free on HitchPlanet and people can request to book a seat on your trip," HitchPlanet founder Flo Devellennes to Daybreak South's Chris Walker.

The ride-sharing service has increased in popularity since it began and has now expanded to 80 different communities across B.C., as well as areas in Alberta and Washington State.

Devellennes say the service is free to the drivers, but passengers are required to pay a small fee for their seats.

Owner says it's not the next Uber

Although he brands the project as a ride-share service, Devellennes is quick to point out that HitchPlanet is not similar to the personal taxi service Uber.

"Uber is kind of misleading people into thinking they're a ride share. They're more of a taxi company that operates within cities."

He points out that his company does not help people make money off the service, but helps them fill seats and cover any additional costs.

Devellennes admits that the company is still growing, but he says they're attempting to provide incentives to potential drivers to post trips that are a minimum of 50 kilometres so the service can grow from city-to-city.

To hear more on this story, click the audio labelled: Hitchplanet ride service