Today's pick is called Ride with VIA
RidewithVIA is a new company providing transportation solutions in NYC, DC and Chicago.
They value proposition is definitely the price: You can go ANYWHERE in the city for $5.
Assuming you accept the following rules:
- you may share the ride with other people
- you may have to walk up to 1 block to get to the car
- you may have to walk up to 1 block to your final destination
So, it is not like Uber, Lyft, or Juno (presented here). It's a service in between taxi, ride-hailing and transit solutions like the subway or the bus.
They call it "ON DEMAND TRANSIT"
If their line up of cities is limited to 3 US metropolitan areas at this time, they are in the process of expanding in the US. And as any platform business model, it should go super fast.
HOW DOES IT WORK ?
The UX (user Experience) is very similar to the one in Uber: Launch, select destination, wait, ride.
You launch the app, allow it to locate you, and you will see a map of the surrounding area.
You can change 2 parameters
- Where you want to go
- How many people are with you
I selected a party of 4 in the example below:
Being able to select the number of people in the ride is a great feature. How may times did I struggle with a party of 4 or 5 trying to get a Taxi or a Uber. With VIA, the system will automatically select the right car for your group.
You may have to walk a few yards to get to the pick-up location, but the app will make it extremely simple, using common language hints like:
At the SW corner of 3rd and 56th, near the Chase bank branch.
You see the chase bank? Great, you don't have to get your compass app to figure out which corner they are speaking about. It's simple.
If you are willing to walk a bit to get to your pick-up location and to your final destination, it's the best bargain in town.
MY EXPERIENCE:
I heard of it, therefore I tried it when I was in NYC, a few times.
The first thing that did strike me is the simplicity of the user experience (on the app), and how easy it is to get to the pick-up location. (the corner information makes things some much easy)
Once done, waiting times are correct, maybe slightly above the average of what you can get with the competition.
Then I was also surprised because the drivers have really super nice cars.
I rode in almost brand new suburbans SUV, with leather interior and even in a Lexus. After I spoke to some drivers, they explained me that VIA was a great solution for them to use this type of car (SUV).
The reason is simple: by transporting multiple people, VIA makes enough money to pay the drivers by the hour. Everybody wins.
The cost is super low: $5 to go anywhere is always a good surprise when you see the bill. On top of that, the prices are fixed, meaning that you will never have a bad surprise if there is traffic or anything that make the ride longer.
But on the other hand, you may have to count on a longer ride that if you would have been alone in a Uber.
For instance, if the driver stops and picks 2 other persons, and if you have traffic, then your ride could be extended by 30 min at least. Not a big deal if you don't have a tight agenda, but it can be a problem if you are running late to a meeting.
I have also discussed with early morning Commuters who replaced their subway routine by Via. They told me that almost always ride alone in the morning. Regarding the budget 2 x $5 per day is roughly $200 per month, and remains affordable.
BOTTOM LINE:
Thanks to some promo codes, I was able to go across NYC (Central Park to Union Square) for the ridiculous amount of $0.70!
It would have cost me $5 full price, which is still way cheaper than a Cab and way better than the subway.
Imho, this solution is the best way to move around in the city:
- when the traffic is light (early or mid-day commuting)
- when you have a bit of time ahead (coming back from shopping)
- when you are a party of 3 or more
3 US cities is a limitation, but the company is still very young and will expand the service.
The service is excellent and there are no bad surprises as you know that you may walk a bit and/or share the ride and you know the price in advance: $5
Once you accepted the service rules, getting around for $5 is a great deal.
You can use my referral code to get $10 of free rides. It's 2 rides in NYC for free and will allow you try the service.
(NOTE: I don't live in NYC, Chicago or DC, therefore I am not trying to get free credits).
Download the app HERE .
@sebastien
I hope that you enjoyed and that you will try this cool app. If you did enjoy the reading, stay tunes to my account for more "101 startups" stories in the future.
Footnotes:
I work with startups. My job is to find innovative hidden-gems in the tech industry.
In the following series of 101 Startups, I'll give you an overview of the best startups and apps I encounter, and I hope you will discover, and use these new services and innovative products.
- Episode 1 - VESTLY, monthly stock trading contests for real cash prizes.
- Episode 2 - LUXE VALET, on demand car-valet services cheaper than parking garages.
- Episode 3 - JUNO, an alternative to Uber and Lyft in NYC. 25% cheaper.
- Episode 4 - MIND SUMO, take companies challenges and earn real money.
- Episode 5 - X.AI, artificial intelligence is your new personal assistant
- Episode 6 - SPOT ANGELS, know where to park, all the time.