Carpooling, in general, and in Iceland in particular?

While I'm figuring out what's the best and cheapest method for me to move around Iceland I came across Car pooling which sounds very interesting. To cut a long story short, you share a car with someone who has one, and split the expenses.

The Wikivojage page suggests using Samferda in order to find rides. The site is quite minimal and I'd like to know what are the best practices to arrange a ride. I browsed a few requests and no one talks about, for example, how much money it is customary to pay a driver, what happens if there are multiple stops during the trip, that take up time etc. Do I have to call each of them and arrange a deal?

How does this car pooling work?

Best Answer

I have no idea about carpooling w.r.t. Iceland, but in the US I'm aware of a few variations:

Long distance trips: Usually arranged on sites like Craigslist, the passengers pay for gas/petrol.

HOV carpool: Specifically in the case of travel between Oakland to SF (over the Bay Bridge), I heard there are spots where drivers will pick up people for a ride. The passengers are basically helping out by allowing use of the carpool lane, which is a great benefit on the congested bridge.

Carpooling to work: The person staying farthest might always drive, or people in the carpool may take turns with driving. Passengers might contribute for fuel costs, or maybe just be there for company (and to use HOV lanes).