Terms and Conditions

1. What Pliho Is

Pliho Technologies, LLC ("Pliho," "Platform") operates a peer-to-peer cost-sharing carpooling marketplace governed by 23 U.S.C. § 146 (federal carpooling policy). Pliho is NOT a Transportation Network Company (TNC), taxi service, common carrier, or transportation provider of any kind. Drivers are volunteer individuals sharing the actual cost of a trip they were already taking, they are not employees, agents, or contractors of Pliho. Riders are individuals who contribute to a driver's out-of-pocket trip costs. All cost-share amounts are bounded by the IRS Standard Mileage Rate (currently $0.725/mile for 2026 per IRS Notice IR-2025-128).

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account, except that users aged 13–17 may participate with parental account linking and guardian authorization as described in the onboarding flow. By creating an account, you represent that all information you provide is accurate and complete, and that you will maintain the accuracy of your information.

3. Driver Requirements

To post trips as a driver, you must:

(a) Be at least 18 years of age with a valid, unexpired driver's license. (b) Own or have lawful authorization to operate the vehicle. (c) Carry personal auto insurance that covers carpooling activity (a rideshare endorsement, commercial auto policy, or equivalent coverage that does not exclude passenger cost-sharing). You represent that you have disclosed your Pliho activity to your insurer if required. (d) Complete Pliho's identity and vehicle verification process, including government ID upload and biometric verification. (e) Upload a current insurance declarations page prior to posting your first trip. (f) Re-verify insurance documentation annually.

Pliho verifies the existence of uploaded documents but does not underwrite, supplement, or guarantee any driver's insurance coverage. Insurance responsibility rests solely with the driver.

4. Cost-Share Ceiling & IRS Compliance

All seat cost-share amounts on Pliho are subject to a hard platform ceiling calculated as:

Ceiling = (trip_miles × live IRS Standard Mileage Rate + actual tolls) ÷ seats offered

The IRS rate is fetched in real time from federal IRS data. Any bid or seat price that would cause the driver's total collection to exceed this ceiling is automatically rejected by the platform before being written to the database.

Drivers are responsible for their own tax filings. Cost-share receipts that constitute reimbursement of actual vehicle operating costs may be excluded from gross income under IRS guidance; consult a tax professional. Pliho provides in-app mileage logs to assist with IRS recordkeeping.

5. Platform Fees

Safety & Technology Fee: A proportional fee equal to 12% of the seat cost-share, with a minimum of $1.99 and a maximum of $5.99 per seat, is charged to the rider at booking. This fee covers payment processing, escrow services, identity verification, and platform maintenance. This fee does not count toward the driver's IRS cost-recovery ceiling and is strictly non-refundable in all cases, including rider-initiated cancellations.

Marketplace Fee: A 10.00% fee is deducted from the driver's collected seat cost-share upon payout. This fee covers marketplace facilitation and payment infrastructure.

Net driver payout = (seat cost-share × seats filled) × 0.90 Platform revenue = (Safety & Technology Fee × seats filled) + (seat cost-share × seats filled × 0.10)

6. Bidding System

Drivers may enable a bidding toggle on any trip listing. When enabled, riders may submit a cost-share offer below the driver's target price. All bids are validated by the Capped Bidding Engine against the IRS ceiling before transmission to the driver. Bids exceeding the legal ceiling are rejected with error code IRS_CEILING_EXCEEDED.

Drivers have 2 hours to accept, reject, or counter any bid. If no action is taken, the bid expires automatically. Acceptance of a bid constitutes a binding carpooling agreement between the driver and rider.

7. Cancellation Policy

All times are relative to the confirmed departure time:

Grace Period: Cancelled within 60 minutes of booking (does not apply if booked within 2 hours of departure), 100% refund of seat cost-share; $0 driver payout.

Standard Notice: Cancelled more than 2 hours before departure, 100% refund of seat cost-share; $0 driver payout.

Late Notice: Cancelled less than 2 hours before departure, 50% refund of seat cost-share; 50% released to driver.

No-Show: Rider fails to appear within 10 minutes of departure, 0% refund; 100% of seat cost-share (minus 10% Marketplace Fee) released to driver.

The Safety & Technology Fee is non-refundable in all cancellation scenarios.

8. Escrow & Payment Timing

Rider payment is authorized (held) by Stripe at booking, not yet captured. Payment capture occurs upon OTP verification at the trip start meetup point. Funds are held in platform escrow for 48 hours following trip completion. If no dispute is filed during this window, funds are released to the driver's wallet for the next weekly payout cycle. If a dispute is filed, funds remain frozen until resolution (maximum 7 days).

9. Dispute Resolution

Disputes must be submitted through the in-app dispute system within 24 hours of a trip event. Pliho supports four dispute types: driver no-show, rider no-show, route/trip interruption dispute, and billing error.

Pliho will automatically retrieve booking records, GPS data, payment logs, and in-app chat history as evidence. Both parties have 24 hours to submit their account. Pliho will issue a resolution within 48 hours of receiving both submissions (72 hours total maximum).

Pliho is a neutral intermediary in disputes between drivers and riders. Platform dispute resolution is a service feature, not an assumption of legal liability for the underlying carpooling arrangement. Disputes regarding personal conduct during a trip are outside the scope of platform dispute resolution.

10. Community Standards & Strike System

All users must: treat others with respect and dignity; not discriminate based on any protected characteristic; not engage in harassment, threatening behavior, or unsafe driving; not attempt to conduct transactions outside the platform.

Violations result in strikes: 2 strikes in 90 days triggers a warning; 3 strikes in 180 days triggers a 30-day suspension; 4 strikes at any time results in permanent account termination with identity flagged to prevent re-registration.

Pliho may suspend or terminate any account immediately without a strike threshold for severe violations including assault, fraud, or regulatory violations.

11. Platform Is Not a Carrier or Employer

Pliho provides technology infrastructure only. Pliho does not own, operate, or control any vehicle used in a trip arranged on this platform. Pliho does not employ, hire, or contract drivers. All carpooling agreements are between the driver and rider as independent parties. If all riders cancel a posted trip, the driver is expected to make the trip regardless, the trip is driver-directed, not rider-created.

Pliho does not hold a transportation license, TLC license, or motor carrier authority in any jurisdiction.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PLIHO AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR: (A) ANY PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR OTHER HARM ARISING FROM TRIPS ARRANGED THROUGH THE PLATFORM; (B) THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF ANY DRIVER OR RIDER; (C) ANY INSURANCE CLAIM DENIAL OR COVERAGE GAP EXPERIENCED BY A DRIVER; OR (D) ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

Pliho's total liability for any claim arising from platform use shall not exceed the amount of the Safety & Technology Fee paid by you in the transaction giving rise to the claim.

13. Arbitration & Class Action Waiver

ALL DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM SHALL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION UNDER JAMS RULES, CONDUCTED IN NEW YORK COUNTY, NEW YORK. YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.

Exceptions: Either party may seek emergency injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent imminent harm. Claims within the jurisdiction of small claims court may be filed there.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict of law principles. Subject to the arbitration clause above, any dispute not subject to arbitration shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts of New York County, New York.

15. Modifications

Pliho reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide 14 days' advance notice of material changes via in-app notification or email. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree, you may close your account before the changes take effect.

Contact

Legal questions: legal@pliho.com