The passenger app
Companion
Companion connects people who need a lift with drivers already making that journey. Not a taxi service — nobody drives anywhere they were not already going.
It was called Hiker while it was being built. Same app, clearer name.
1. Say where you are going
Your pickup, your drop-off, and the window you can travel in. The server works out which routes actually pass you, in the direction you are going.
2. Agree a fare first
A driver proposes, you accept or counter. Nobody sets off with the price unsettled, and what was agreed is on the record if it is disputed afterwards.
3. Then you meet
Only once a lift is agreed do the two of you get each other's phone number, the exact pickup point, and the car's registration.
What the other person can see
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is the part that decides whether an app like this is safe to use.
Before a lift is agreed
A driver browsing sees your first name, your rating if you have one, your pickup and drop-off snapped to about 200 metres — a circle on a map, not a doorstep — how far they would carry you, and the suggested fare. They do not see your phone number, your exact position or your live position. The server enforces that: if it is not in the response, no version of the app can show it.
Live location goes one way
Between a lift being agreed and the pickup happening, the driver's position travels to the one passenger they have agreed to carry. Never the reverse. The driver has already given a name, a car, a colour and a plate; the person getting into a stranger's car has been asked for considerably less, and this is the balance that follows from that.
It stops the moment the lift ends — cancelled or completed — not on a timer and not on a nightly sweep. Position records are deleted after seven days.
Blocks, reports and ratings
Block someone and neither of you is shown to the other again, in either direction, immediately. Reports are read by a person. Three upheld reports of harassment or unsafe driving suspend an account from being matched — and that account is told plainly that it is suspended, rather than quietly never being offered another lift.
Two things to know before you sign up
Email addresses and phone numbers are not verified yet, because the server cannot send email or SMS. A wrong number just means the lift does not happen. When verification exists it will become a condition of being matched.
There is no self-service password reset yet, for the same reason. If you forget your password, write to us and it will be sorted by hand.
Companion is not intended for anyone under 18. Arranging to be collected by a stranger is not something this app is willing to help a child do.