TripPoint

Save costs and be efficient in the spaces of our vehicles! Come join us at TripPoint, a ridesharing site where drivers can schedule rides and allow passengers to tag along for the environment.

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Inspiration

TripPoint is inspired by the UC Davis' Rideshare Facebook community, aiming to provide a different approach towards a demographic population for both passengers and drivers. Unlike most ride-sharing services, passenger fares will be reduced as ride-sharing is cheap due to the fact that passengers meet up at a designated place at the driver's disgression. Additionally, drivers will no longer have to waste gas and pickup passengers at different places like Uber Pool.

Most importantly, this app was inspired by a sense of community. Living in college, I found myself struggling with transportation whether they may be from my financial reasons or lack of connections. I found myself homesick and frustrated by my lack of transportation. I wasn't alone. The UC Davis' Rideshare Facebook community presents itself as a cheaper alternative while helping its community for both passenger and driver. Hence, a dedicated platform, TripPoint presents itself as an amalgam of what we want. Transportation for simply us.

What it does

TripPoint allows drivers to post their trips while passengers search for rides that match their needs.

The process is the following:

For Passengers

  1. Click Find Ride
  2. Enter desired pickup location, drop off location, and date.
  3. The matching algorithm will find rideshares posted by drivers on that date which are within 20 miles of your pickup location and drop off location.
  4. The map will display all matching rideshares on the map with markers and the path that they take.
  5. Click on the markers in order to display the trip's information such as driver's information, pickup location, drop off locations, price, and etc.
  6. Click join if you would like to join the trip.
  7. The driver's contact information will be stored under the contacts tab, and the trip will be stored in the trips tab.

For Drivers

  1. Click Post Ride
  2. Enter the pickup location, drop off location, date, price, passenger limit, and notes.
  3. Your rideshare offer will be posted and any passenger whose search criteria matches yours will be able to join.
  4. Once a passenger joins, they will be listed under your contacts and in your trips tab.

How we built it

TripPoint is built with several technologies:

  • React.JS
  • Firebase Auth
  • Firestore
  • Google Cloud API
  • Google Maps API
  • Google Directions API
  • Google Geocoder API
  • Ant Design
  • Figma
  • Netlify

Challenges we ran into

Early in development, we struggled to separate ourselves from Uber and Lyft and declare that our intent was for ridesharing and not taxi finding.

Additionally, some of us were new to React and found it challenging but rewarding to learn in 36 hours!

Google Maps API and drawing objects on it was hard to figure out, but eventually we were able to overcome it and successfully generate routes and their markers on the map.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Learning and utilizing Google Maps API and creating nice UI/UX for the user within our crunched time.

What we learned

Photoshop, React, Figma, Ant Design, Firebase, Firestore, Google Cloud APIs

What's next for TripPoint

  • Clean up minor bugs
  • Implement in-app messaging!
  • Port to a mobile native app
  • Clean up the contacts and trips tab
  • Dedicated desktop layout
  • Distribution to local university communities
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