SoMo, HERE Mobility’s new app, is making the journey to Coachella 2019 part of the festival adventure by enabling attendees to find and share free rides with fellow music lovers.
Over 100,000 people are expected to attend the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12-14 and April 19-21 in Indio, California. But reaching the remotely-located event can easily turn festival goers’ good vibes into a logistical nightmare. Attendees planning to arrive via car face a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and a 2.5 hour journey from San Diego, and are warned by the official Coachella website not to trust their GPS for directions. For festival goers who don’t own a car, a search for public transportation options comes up drier than the event’s Colorado Desert surroundings.
Derived from “Social Mobility,” SoMo features a free ride-share layer that connects users to riders and drivers in their social circles – not strangers. It also introduces a new mobility concept called Gatherings — events that are defined by location, time, attendees and intent. Users can connect with friends and social circles based on common activities – like Coachella — and ride together to a Gathering.
SoMo allows Coachella attendees to start the party as soon as they get in the car. Drivers can start a ‘Gathering’ and offer seats to other festival-goers. Coachella attendees who don’t have a car can use SoMo’s events filter to explore nearby Gatherings and find a ride, or connect with their friends and social circles to plan a Gathering of their own. The result is a simple, fun, convenient, and affordable way for festival-goers to travel to Coachella seamlessly.
People arriving in a shared ride of four or more become eligible to win life-long VIP Coachella passes, backstage passes, merchandise vouchers, and other prizes through the “Carpoolchella” competition; one of several environmentally-friendly initiatives organized by the festival.
Festival-goers who want to explore Los Angeles and San Diego before or after Coachella can also use SoMo to choose from a variety of public and private transportation options that best fit their needs. Harnessing the power of the HERE Mobility Marketplace, an open and competitive mobility marketplace that aggregates all locally available transit services in real-time, SoMo connects users to local taxi providers like Yellow Radio Service (San Diego), and L.A. Yellow Cab, City Trans, A List World Transportation, A&G Worldwide Chauffeur Service, and California Yellow Cab (all Los Angeles).
SoMo is available for download globally on Google Play and the App Store in English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese (Brazilian).
Forget the hassle of carpool planning and say goodbye to toggling back and forth between group messages and other transportation apps. Introducing SoMo, an all-encompassing seamless transportation app that gives full access to the HERE Mobility Marketplace. SoMo is the best way to plan, book and coordinate your commute or carpool with family or friends via public transit, taxi, limo or car. Drive solo or share a ride with a friend to a one-time get together or a recurring event. With SoMo, you can invite friends to join a ride, share transportation and ride details, get real-time ETAs, plan and communicate easily for a smooth journey.
Upgrade your mobility experience. Download SoMo and make travel from point A to B more efficient, stress-free, simple and social!
The smart way to organize a ride 🚗
SoMo makes the whole process of organizing a ride, commute or carpool between family and friends simple. Whether you need to get to a family wedding, arrange an after school carpool or plan a solo ride like your commute to work–do it your way. Choose from public transit options like bus, subway, metro or taxi, or find a ride with a friend headed in the same direction. Ride the smart way and save time.
Organize your morning commute to work, your neighborhood carpool and create or join a ride. SoMo is the smart way to travel, wherever you’re headed.
SoMo connects to your social circles so you can easily plan a ride or a carpool together and create a ride group based on a shared destination or common interest. You can also create a Gathering which is an event that is defined by location, time, attendees, and intent. The app’s sophisticated mapping technology and live data make planning and sharing your trip together with friends and family easy, so you can get to any Gathering with ease.
With SoMo, you can explore what’s happening nearby, and join a Gathering or event you’re interested in. View who is driving there, carpool together, ride solo, book a ride, or see what public transport options are available. Easily plan with friends who are attending the same Gathering so you can arrive together.
A simple app for all your riding needs
Forget the stress! No more toggling between different navigation or transportation apps to organize your trip together. SoMo is a seamless way to find and book a ride or commute using various transportation options. Get wherever you need to go by driving, taking a taxi, subway or metro, limo or bus, or join an existing ride and go together. SoMo combines all your transportation needs within one beautiful and easy-to-use interface. Open the app, find or coordinate your ride and you’re on your way.
Optimized pickup, drop off and travel routes
SoMo’s algorithm optimizes route-planning and navigation to get you where you need to go and ensures you arrive on time. The app uses rider locations to determine the most efficient routes based on pickup and drop-off points, time and distance. The app also functions as a classic navigation app, offering turn-by-turn guidance and real-time traffic updates for the driver. Plus, automatic updates about driver location and ETAs ensure that drivers can navigate and arrive safely without any distractions.
With easy group creation and ride searchability, SoMo is the seamless and flexible all-in-one transportation app for all your transport needs, helping you coordinate and plan for a quick and fun drive together.
Disclaimer
Please check the availability of transportation options in your city, as not all options are offered in all locations.