Blacklane To Take On Uber, Lyft In Short-Range Trips

Berlin-based chauffeur service Blacklane is directly challenging Uber and Lyft in the short-distance passenger trip business, beginning Monday (March 1) in New York City, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

The service comes just months after the company began offering city-to-city service for fixed rates in response to the collapse of its core market — serving major airports — as a result of the pandemic’s effect on airline travel, WSJ reported. In the days and weeks following the New York City launch, the service is set to roll out in dozens of cities across the United States and globally.

Blacklane’s latest move was first reported by WSJ and confirmed to PYMNTS by a spokesman.

“Being dependent on travel and airports, we were on the front-line of the pandemic,” CEO Jens Wohltorf, who co-founded the company in 2011, told WSJ. He said he expects cities will recover economically much faster than international air travel will recover.

Compared to Uber, Lyft and traditional taxis, Blacklane offers trained professional drivers, who, according to Blacklane’s website, must be “dependable, motivated, professional and have a polished appearance” — and luxury vehicles, including Mercedes sedans and Cadillacs. Daimler AG is a major investor.

In 2018, Wohltorf told PYMNTS that Blacklane was capitalizing on the structure of the limo business, which often left drivers sitting idle or driving empty cars 80 percent of the time.

WSJ quoted Wohltorf as saying the company had been planning to go public as early as 2022 but now will wait until 2023 or later.

Blacklane announced three weeks ago that it had acquired a majority stake in Havn, a company formed by Jaguar and Land Rover that runs electric-only car service in London, WSJ reported.

Blacklane stated in an announcement at the time: “Havn provides all-electric urban transport with no compromise on comfort and style — an offer unique to London. Each journey can be tailored to the preferences of the passenger with options such as playlist, temperature and chauffeur interaction all customizable within the Havn app.”