Every few weekends, 21-year-old student Lavanya Jain opens the BlaBlaCar app to find a lift from Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi to his home in Kandhla, a small town in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state. The 120-kilometer journey costs him about ₹500, the equivalent of about $6. That’s a fraction of the ₹1,500–₹2,000, or $17–$23, he would pay for a private cab.

“If you’re looking for a fast, efficient, affordable, and comfortable way to travel — and you like to chat — you should basically check out BlaBlaCar,” Jain told TechCrunch, adding that he has used the app some 40 to 50 times over the past two years.

Jain is one of millions of Indians turning to long-distance carpooling as a cheaper, more social way to travel between cities. That surge has made India the company’s largest

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