Need to bum a ride? Shout coordinates carpools with friends

It's all about efficiency with Avego. The ride-sharing startup released a casual carpooling app that can help coordinate rides with friends on the fly.

Avego Shout is sort of a lightweight version of the Avego Driver iPhone app. When you're going somewhere, it lets you advertise extra space in your car to a group of friends using the app, but it doesn't include Avego Driver's cashless payment system to get riders to pony up for their fair share of gas money.

Shout is designed for people who share rides from time to time with friends. If you have a group that you regularly carpool with, the app will help reduce the anxiety and back-and-forth communication that comes with negotiating pickup times and locations. Instead of e-mails, calls, and disparate SMSes, push notifications send instant messages to help everyone communicate their whereabouts, and riders can trace the driver's progress on a map so they can see how close they are to getting picked up.

It can also help fill empty seats on the fly. If you're looking for a warm body to help you get into the HOV lane, Shout lets drivers pick up riders from Hotspots in some cities.

Hotspots are geographic concentrations of heavy Avego usage, typically located near major transport corridors with significant real-time ridesharing activity. Avego Hotspots are currently located in Seattle, Washington, and Orlando, Florida, with a couple in Norway and Ireland.

Earlier this year Avego released the go520 app for iPhone and Windows Phone to help Seattle residents carpool across the notoriously congested 520 bridge.