As promised, here is a demo of the iOS version of Provide, very near to its beta release. It has been approved by Apple and is on the App Store. We will be submitting an update shortly that includes some bug fixes and cleans up a few aesthetic items. We hope this demo will be well-received, and that everyone can appreciate the fact that it was recorded on 2 iOS emulators (hence the need to simulate location changes throughout the demo).

Feedback welcome!

Watch it here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/prvd-token/media/prvd-rideshare-iOS-demo-0.mp4

Seems to be working just fine, yes. However if you are having issues in a specific browser or on a specific device please provide that information and we can look into reproducing and fixing the issue you describe.



No. The app will only accept payments by credit card initially (think paying for your Uber). We are using cryptocurrencies on the backend however as a mechanism to decentralize the transactions and govern platform fees such that the driver community in each market would have to approve by majority vote any increase in our cut of each transaction. Uber charges as much as 36% as their fee per transaction. We will never charge more than 10% -- and those rules will be governed by smart contracts.

With that said, we do have significant interest in allowing consumers to pay with cryptocurrencies. Also, we want to eventually allow drivers to select their desired payout currency if there is enough demand from the market for that functionality. Initially consumers will be required to pay with credit cards and drivers will only be able to receive payouts in USD.


Answered above, but will go into a little more detail. The platform supports credit card payments now; behind the scenes we will put transactions on-chain and do forex as needed. The PRVD token will be used to represent the transactions themselves. After ride-for-hire transactions are finalized the PRVD tokens stored in the contract are distributed to the appropriate party's wallet inside our platform.

Let me know if either of your questions regarding payment methods and our strategy to accept cryptocurrencies remain unanswered.

Thanks!

We have more than a working alpha; in fact, iOS is almost ready to begin beta testing.

Will record demo soon. Alternatively if you'd like to see it live, that would be even better.

Significant updates to whitepaper: https://s3.amazonaws.com/prvd-token/docs/prvd-whitepaper.pdf
Token sale now accepts credit cards: https://provideapp.com

Show this project some love! 

Thank you for the positive feedback. We have a working application that is already in the app store and are going to be submitting an update shortly that polishes off the ridesharing functionality and fixes a few bugs. The Android version is very close behind; we are very ready to launch this product, starting off in SF.

We definitely need the support of the community in a few ways: (1) to help us become established as "non-scam ICO" and (2) to actually get the funding we need to move forward with marketing in our first market.

Thank you for your interest in the roadmap.

Deploy app to iOS app store [ x ] -- link to app in App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/provide/id989007042?ls=1&mt=8

Deploy app to Google Play store [  ] -- this is quite far along in development and will be ready for release in Q4 2017.

Acquire 10% market share in San Francisco [  ] -- we want to achieve this by 12/2018; our CMO is a former Uber driver and is on the ground in SF. he has already been recruiting drivers who are ready for the next big thing to come along as they are all sick of Uber.

Democratize platform fees [  ] -- we have begun building this infrastructure out but there is more work to be done. ETA on stable delivery of this functionality Q1 2018.

The reason this is a good fit for blockchain is democratization of the fee schedule. In order for us to increase our cut of each fare, we will require a majority of drivers in a given market to approve the increase. We will have to make a case for why we need more of each transaction in the market, and the drivers will have to agree that the reasons make sense.

We are going to initially require drivers to be existing Uber or Lyft drivers to piggyback off their verification. Drivers will take a screenshot of their Uber or Lyft driver app and submit it to us, along with their proof of insurance and other requisite documentation.

Our ICO has been postponed until September 15th. See our official announcement at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2151389.msg21521675#msg21521675 for screenshots and more details. Thanks for your interest!

[ANN] [ICO] PROVIDE: DECENTRALIZED RIDE SHARING (PRVD)

Provide is a decentralized ridesharing platform.  Founded in 2014 as an “Uber-for-X” platform targeting large corporations in need of enterprise  software.  Originally, Provide was a way for companies  to  modernize  their customer experience around the delivery of big-ticket retail items.  The platform enables the provision of peer-to-peer services (think Uber-for-X), using Android and iOS mobile applications  integrated  with  the  platform. Our platform decentralizes transactional activity  using  the  Ethereum  blockchain  to  provide  intrinsic  transparency  to  consumers  and service  providers.

Our technology has been vetted by large enterprise for use in retail delivery by large retail corporations. By stripping away the enterprise functionality, we are releasing the core technology as a decentralized ridesharing platform.


Provide  is  issuing  a  utility  token (PRVD) on the Ethereum blockchain. The PRVD token is the only means of paying for services in the Provide ecosystem, ensuring transparency for all  transactions  on the  Provide  network.  The  token  will  also  be  used  to  incentivize signups and referrals. An in-app exchange enabling credit card purchase is provided.

200 million provide tokens will be created, with 70% of the total supply offered to the public during the token sale. Tokens can be purchased by sending ETH to a smart contract or with a credit-card in the app or on the website. An airdrop program will distribute tokens to drivers as they sign up. A referral program will allow you to earn tokens for referring your friends.

The token sale will be capped at 100,000 ETH. These amounts assume a sold-out token sale at 1,400 PRVD per ETH. If the tokens do not sell out the total number of created totens will be less but the percentage allocation will remain the same.

Provide  generates  revenue  from  transactions  which  take  place  on  its  network. A  5%  fee  will  be  distributed  to  the  Provide  multisig  when  a  transaction  is  completed. Compared to as much as 36% fees assessed by Uber and Lyft, this competitive pricing combined with our airdrop program will allow Provide to quickly capture drivers and take market share.

At $125 per driver per month, to generate $1M/month in revenue, we need fewer than 10,000 active drivers. To put this into perspective, there are more than 100,000 existing rideshare drivers  in  NYC  alone, many  of  them  currently  using  multiple  ridesharing  services like Lyft, Uber, Juno, Gett. Capturing a 10%  market  share  in  the  first  year  is  an  achievable  goal.  Other ridesharing services have captured as much as 10% market share in less than a year.  With our competitive model, we will take customers and drivers, offering large bonuses for  signing up and completing a minimum number of trips.

Provide is a mature application platform capable of disrupting the Ubers and Lyfts of the world by leveraging decentralization afforded by blockchain. By facilitating decentralized peer-to-peer  transactions,  Provide  is  creating  the  transparency  required  to  return  the  power  to  the participants in the sharing economy. Provide is unique because it has a polished user experience that will allow drivers to control their own fees, using blockchain technology to enable voting through the app on any changes in the fee structure.

There are in excess of 700,000 ride-for-hire pickups every day in New York City alone.
If  Provide  captures  just 6%  of  the  NYC  ride-for-hire  market, that  would  generate a monthly revenue of $1.58M. That’s in just one city alone.

1M per month in ridesharing and related services revenue is a conservative estimate. Provide  projects  a  revenue  run  rate  of $12M by  Q4  2018, generating approximately $1M/month from PRVD transactions by  December  2018.

The Provide app has already been released on the App Store for iOS. The Android app is in the final stages of development. Provide will launch in San Francisco. Proceeds from the token sale will be used to finish the development of the product and to aggressively market our platform within the ridesharing community.

Deliverables:

• Deploy app to iOS app store [ x ]
• Deploy app to Google Play store [  ]
• Acquire 10% market share in San Francisco [  ]
• Democratize platform fees [  ]

Incentives:

• $300 Driver Signup Bonus
• $65 Driver Referral Bonus
• $10 Rider Referral Bonus

For more information, see our whitepaper https://s3.amazonaws.com/prvd-token/docs/prvd-whitepaper.pdf

To participate in the ICO, visit our website https://provideapp.com

No escrow, but the coins are not going to be issued and distributed to purchasers until after the sale period (and the tokens are exchange-listed). Essentially, the Ether will sit in the multisig until enough has been raised to proceed AND the token has been exchange-listed to ensure liquidity. At that time, tokens will be minted and issued to purchasers.

There are details related to the mechanics of the token and sale contracts and links to those contracts in the whitepaper.

Thanks for the feedback!

A draft version of the whitepaper has been published. We look forward to your feedback: https://s3.amazonaws.com/prvd-token/docs/prvd-whitepaper.pdf

Thanks. Also note that the token sale officially begins 9/1 but the contract is able to accept contributions at this time and we intend to announce bounty/airdrop programs shortly that will offer up to 2 million PRVD tokens as a reward for early marketing efforts... stay tuned for those announcements!

NYC, Austin, SF... major tech hubs.

From past experiments it seems there is significant demand for this thing from Uber drivers. They need freedom to run their own businesses...

PRVD tokens are utility tokens that the platform uses as fuel to power all transactions in the app (the fares paid to drivers are actually paid in the driver's currency off choice as long as its supported). We are planning to support BTC transactions and USD too for that matter-- behind the scenes PRVD tokens are bought and sold on the market as needed.

The reason this is a good fit for blockchain is to enable transparency and dramatically reduce centralization.

Here is one scenario:

Drivers who want to speculate on the price of BTC might elect to be paid in BTC instead of USD. Someone in need of a ride could use a credit card to pay USD into the platform, which will exchange those dollars for PRVD tokens behind the scenes and then exchange those PRVD tokens for BTC on the open market.

Some proceeds of the ICO will be concentrated in our target markets as needed to recruit drivers. We think targeting Uber and Lyft drivers is a great way to find great drivers

Drivers have the freedom to set their own rates, starting at a suggested rate based on current market prices as determined by the platform.

Each "ride" (think Uber, when you request a car) is transparently represented on the Ethereum blockchain as a smart contract (transparently created and managed by the platform). Provide will be represented in the smart contract and will receive a small percentage of PRVD tokens. So it is not "Decentralized Free Uber" -- but, it is "Decentralized Transparent Uber" to the extent that the drivers are in control, and 100% transparency is provided on the fee structure.

The app/platform manages the PRVD transfers transparently and the users will be able to transact in the currency of their choice.

PRVD will launch on the Ethereum network.

We are going to announce an interesting airdrop program targeting several large markets in the US and we are open to including additional markets outside of the US if there is sufficient demand. The number of PRVD tokens rewarded will likely increase by a factor of 3 or more if you download and install the app so we can verify you are in one of our initial target markets. Also, we will more than likely extend the opportunity to earn more PRVD tokens if you are responsible for drivers signed up in those markets

So basically, when the airdrop begins the process will be:

1) download the app when it becomes available
2) claim your PRVD tokens
3) refer your friends and help us market the app to other riders and drivers to receive even more PRVD tokens during the airdrop/bounty period (again, if they are in one of the markets we are most interested in, there will be a bonus meaning even more PRVD tokens for YOU)

The app will use PRVD tokens as currency to pay drivers for the cost of the fare, based on the market value of the token, but it will be transparent to the users. Drivers can have their fares paid in the currency of their choice and users can pay for rides using the currency of their choice. The PRVD token will be seamlessly managed by the platform underneath.

Follow this thread for updates!

As previously stated, more details will be released including app screenshots, ICO details, and bounty details. Have patience, more information will be coming soon!

Are you saying that the reason previous efforts to do this have failed because marketing those efforts has failed?

September 1 ICO, yes.