“Ride” Into Work With Uber Co-Founder’s New App

When a consumer is looking to hail a ride, there’s Uber and Lyft. But for the commuter who’s looking to hail a ride with their co-workers or neighbors, there’s a new app on the market called Ride.

What sets Ride apart from its predecessors is that the ride-sharing service connects riders to each other to share a commute, and doesn’t have random drivers chauffeuring people around. The service can be pitched to businesses as an employee perk that allows them to use the app to plan out their commuting schedule to determine if that specific co-worker should be the driver or rider. Those factors are based on where the employees work and what their individual schedules are like. Ride prides itself on the smart-algorithm technology used to map out plans and routes among co-workers and neighbors.

Ride, which is owned by TPG Capital and started by an executive team that includes former Uber CTO Oscar Salazar, is the mobile app that is designed to bring a cost-effective transportation solution for employees to carpool from work without necessarily having to have their own car to do so. Employees can use the app to connect their ride-sharing plans and map out a route for the driver that calculates time and directions.

“Companies that are interested have a lot of people who have an arduous commute of 30 minutes or more, have parking lot pressure, and a sustainability goal,” Ann Fandozzi, CEO at Ride, told VentureBeat.

The app allows for cost savings on commutes, and it also allows the driver and passenger to set up payment terms per trip. That is automatically calculated based on cost of gas in that specific place and the trip’s distance. For employers who want to offer an additional perk, Ride offers a van and SUV options through a partnership with GM.

On Ride’s website, it claims that it can free up time for commuters and help them save up to $5,000 a year by implementing a ride-sharing employee commuter option. Through features of the app, Ride actually calculates the time added as more people are added to the route list; it also calculates how much each person is saving by commuting with others. Ride users can also use the concierge service to use a car that’s available at the employer’s location.