Ridesharing is when people who do not know each other pay separate fares and travel together in the same vehicle.
All ridesharing journeys must be booked with a licensed London PHV operator. As a London PHV driver, you can only carry out ridesharing bookings that you have received from a licensed London PHV operator.
If you work for a PHV operator who offers ridesharing services you should talk to them about ridesharing training for PHV drivers, as the operator should provide this.
Ridesharing can potentially introduce some safety risks for passengers.
It is possible that ridesharing might happen if, for example, two people have a similar route to and from work and travel at similar times. They may choose to book a ridesharing PHV and travel with someone they don’t know. In cases like this, one passenger could be put at risk if the other passenger learns things about them such as their home address, where they work, their daily routines and whether they live alone or not. A stranger knowing information like this may make a passenger vulnerable to crime.
Another possible problem is that a passenger may book a ridesharing journey by mistake. If you stop to collect a second passenger and the first passenger was not expecting you to, it could result in an argument.
To try to reduce these problems, it is always a good idea to:
• Confirm with each separate passenger that they have booked a rideshare as soon as you pick them up
• Explain how many other people you will pick up and the predicted route
• Let them know if you have to change the predicted route or pick up new passengers
during the journey
• Tell the passenger how long it is likely to take to get to their destination
• Make sure the passenger knows what the cost is likely to be
It may also be a good idea to say to passengers that if they feel uncomfortable at any point, they can ask to get out of the vehicle and they can arrange for a nonrideshare PHV vehicle to meet them at a point along your route.
You should not share the personal details of one passenger with any other passenger.