“There’s an online free global ride-sharing service called PickupPal that has been gaining traction with Internet users lately, most notably by partnering with concert promoters and other event planners to spread the word about their service. PickupPal matches up drivers and passengers who are headed to the same destination, tracks and publishes their reputations eBay-style and allows them to work out mutual arrangements for splitting the gas money and other costs of the trip. … It is hard to see how such a thing could be anything less than a nifty social benefit of the Internet, but in Ontario, it is considered illegal. The province’s Public Vehicles Act states, ‘No person shall arrange or offer to arrange transportation of passengers by means of a public vehicle operated by another person unless that other person is the holder of an operating licence authorizing that other person to perform the transportation.’” (08/22/08)