The Bay Area Rapid Transit system, aka BART, has been shut down by a worker's strike since Monday, and there's no end in sight to the resulting horrific traffic.
To help out commuters and generate some good publicity, ride sharing company Avego teamed up with radio station KGO to give away daily helicopter rides between San Francisco and the East Bay.
To fly above the congestion, commuters must download the Avego app and post a trip request to share a ride. Four winners are chosen at random at 4 p.m. and driven to San Francisco International Airport for their ride in the chopper.
Will Oremus at Slate points out the discrepancy between the eco-conscious goal of sharing car rides and the excessive use of fuel to put one carload's worth of passengers into a helicopter, but Avego stands by its overall goal of making transportation more efficient.
In a press release, CEO Sean O'Sullivan said, "We were looking for a really visual way for people to understand the difference between being stuck in highway traffic like a turkey and flying by in the HOV lane like an eagle."
Avego isn't the only ride sharing app using helicopters to promote its business. On the East Coast, Uber is offering a $3,000 helicopter ride for five from NYC to East Hampton, which is actually a great deal.
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