There’s a new Tesla-using taxi service in the city of Cincinnati — one founded by two ex-Tesla employees, as per recent reports.
The new company — which goes by the name of Drivr Green Personal Transportation — is being marketed as an alternative of sorts to services such as Uber and Lyft. Of course, in this case, you get to ride in a decked-out Tesla — not some random gas guzzler.
Rates for the service are currently set at $2.50-a-mile — with a minimum charge of $15. The service is door-to-door, accommodates up to 4 passengers, and can be booked online (here). And all of the cars are outfitted with free LTE WiFi, smartphone-charging, a 17-inch navigation-screen for the passenger to observe the route-taken, and complete passenger control over the 200-watt sound-system.
The billing system is reportedly a simple one-step process — but I can’t vouch for this yet.
(Btw, thanks to “neroden” on the Tesla Motors Club forum for finding and posting about this service)
Here’s a bit of background via the Cincinnati Business Courier:
Drivr was born in February 2014 when Brandon Beard, who has a background in digital product design, and Nick Seitz, who has worked with several local tech startups, were working part-time at Tesla in Kenwood.
“I was an avid Tesla enthusiast and owner. We got the idea that this green transportation, this electric transportation, makes sense as mass transit,” Beard told me.
The pair crunched the numbers and Beard said they realized they could operate Teslas at a significantly reduced-rate (as compared to) gasoline cars.
Drivr began in August by testing its three Tesla Model S cars on ridesharing service Uber. They had customers who wanted to be able to request their Teslas for future rides – something Uber doesn’t allow. That gave Drivr its model going forward, Beard said.
As it stands, Drivr currently employs 7 drivers, who operate the three Model S EVs 20–22 hours a day. The company is currently planning to lease a further 10 Teslas in the coming months, and to increase its driver numbers up to 30.
The company actually still offers its services on Uber’s Black Car service, but is now planning to focus more on its own system.
Speaking on the topic of the target market, Beard noted: “We’re going after the same market of people who want the on-demand service. We find it’s a significant amount. On the average day we do 10 airport runs. We’re trying to meet the demand that exists.”
Something that wasn’t mentioned before, but is potentially relevant to some of those reading this — Drivr also serves as a mobile concierge service of sorts, and can pick things up for you (groceries, take-out, dry cleaning, etc), or drop them off after you’ve left the vehicle.
Image Credit: Screen Capture
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