Nonprofit ridesharing presents an underutilized opportunity for increasing transportation sustainability, as well as users’ economic and social benefits, while reducing adverse environmental impacts. However, while app-based ridesharing has achieved only modest uptake, mostly limited to longer trips, in certain contexts, self-organized ridesharing (SORS) has shown significant achievements, even for the challenging short- and mid-range commuting trips. Still, knowledge regarding the key elements and mechanisms behind successful SORS is partial, hindering the ability to effectively leverage SORS diffusion and scaling potential. Following the premise that successful initiatives may provide learning opportunities, this study aims at narrowing this knowledge gap by performing a comparative cross-cultural systematic study of eight diverse SORS cases. The study uses a recently designed conceptual framework and multiple research methods (mainly online data exploration, personal interviews, observations, and documents analysis) to comprehensively examine SORSs’ attributes and evolution stages and processes. Study findings highlight repeated patterns as well as the role of context, official actors, and local practices in shaping initiative’s dynamics towards success. The study offers general and specific policy recommendations for supporting the early development, growth, and diffusion of SORS, as well as reflections on post pandemic ridesharing.

非营利性乘车共享提供了一个未充分利用的机会，可以提高交通的可持续性以及用户的经济和社会效益，同时减少不利的环境影响。然而，虽然基于应用程序的乘车共享仅实现了适度的采用，主要限于长途旅行，但在某些情况下，自组织乘车共享（SORS）已经显示出显着的成就，即使对于具有挑战性的中短程通勤旅行也是如此。尽管如此，关于成功 SORS 背后的关键要素和机制的知识仍然是片面的，这阻碍了有效利用 SORS 扩散和扩展潜力的能力。遵循成功的举措可以提供学习机会的前提，本研究旨在通过对八个不同的 SORS 案例进行跨文化比较系统研究来缩小这一知识差距。该研究采用最新设计的概念框架和多种研究方法（主要是在线数据探索、个人访谈、观察和文献分析）来全面考察SORS的属性以及演化阶段和过程。研究结果强调了重复的模式以及环境、官方行为者和当地实践在塑造倡议成功动力方面的作用。该研究提供了支持 SORS 早期发展、增长和传播的一般和具体政策建议，以及对大流行后拼车的反思。