Toronto gets a new carpooling app

Blancride, Toronto's newest carpooling service, has launched a new app for both iOS and Android devices.

The service matches passengers looking for a ride with drivers who are heading their way. Blancride promises to be a hassle free service that automatically calculates how much to charge for the ride and automatically charge the passenger and pay the driver. There's also a built-in rating system that can be used to flag bad rides.

The app's developer, Hamid Akbari, an assistant professor with the Faculty of Business and Information Technology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology says he developed Blancride to make carpooling, which reduces traffic and helps the environment, more stress free.

The app was first launched in November for students and faculty at Oshawa's University of Ontario Institute of Technology where it attracted over a thousand users. Now Blancride is making its way to Toronto with hopes of gaining more users from the GTA's large population of students and young professionals.

So if the TTC is getting you down, and Uber seems too lonely a ride, you might want to give these newbies a try.

Follow Sima Sahar Zerehi on Twitter @SimaSaharZerehi.

Photo via the Blancride Google plus page