Sidecar (company)
Sidecar is a transportation network company that connects people for real-time ridesharing. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California, but serves many cities. People can choose a ride based on vehicle, price and ETA using their smartphone.
History
Sidecar was founded in January 2012 by Sunil Paul, CEO, and Jahan Khanna, CTO. Beta testing began in San Francisco in February 2012; since then, more than 10,000 rides have been facilitated.[1]
The company rapidly expanded its operations into Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Austin. During South By Southwest in 2013, Sidecar made all rides during the conference free, paying its drivers as brand ambassadors during the event.[2] In 2013 it also began serving Boston, Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Chicago, San Diego, Long Beach and Oakland as well.[3]
Investments
In September 2014, Sidecar received $15 million in funding from current investors and new investor Sir Richard Branson.
Previously, the company raised $20 million worth of seed funding from numerous investors.[1][4]
Following an investment round from USV in August 2013, Sidecar pivoted to a new marketplace model in February of 2014. Whereas competitors rely on surge pricing to regulate supply, Sidecar drivers now set their own prices, while riders select the ride they want based on price, car ETA, and type/size of vehicle.
Legal challenges and approval in California
In the fall of 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a cease and desist letter to Sidecar (along with rideshare companies Lyft and Uber) and fined each $20,000. However, in 2013 an interim agreement was reached reversing those actions.[5] In September 2013, the CPUC unanimously voted to make the agreement permanent, creating a new category of service called "Transportation Network Companies" to cover Lyft, UberX, and Sidecar, and making California the first state to recognize such services.[6]
In 2013 the Philadelphia Parking Authority carried out a sting operation against Sidecar, and shut it down as an "unauthorized service provider."[7] However, Sidecar has argued that its operation is not taxi service but "a way to organize ridesharing and carpooling."[8]
Sidecar Delivery launch
In February 2015, Sidecar announced a same-day service for local businesses that will deliver goods, food, and flowers to local consumers using its existing pool of drivers.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sidecar Connects Drivers and Passengers One Ride at a Time". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
- ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/uber-sidecar-sxsw/
- ↑ Ridesharing Service Sidecar Expands to Boston, Brooklyn and Chicago - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD
- ↑ Geron, Tomio. "Sidecar Raises $10 Million From Google Ventures, Lightspeed - Forbes". Forbes.
- ↑ Lawler, Ryan (31 Jan 2013). "A Day After Cutting A Deal With Lyft, California Regulator Reaches An Agreement With Uber As Well". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ↑ Geron, Tomio (9 Sep 2013). "California Becomes First State To Regulate Ridesharing Services Lyft, Sidecar, UberX". Forbes. Retrieved 23 Oct 2013.
- ↑ Sidecar Says Three Philadelphia Drivers Caught In ‘Sting,’ But It Plans To Continue Operations | TechCrunch
- ↑ Inside the Philadelphia Parking Authority's feud with Sidecar — NewsWorks
- ↑ http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Sidecar-expands-service-to-deliver-packages-as-6071623.php#photo-7502079
External links
Further reading
- Donna, Tam. "From Geek Street to Main Street: Ride sharing's road to a mass market". CNET.
- Rodriguez, Salvador (2013-11-15). "Sidecar: California Riders Will be Required to Pay Minimum Fares". Los Angeles Times.
- Boehret, Katherine. "Baby, You Can Drive (or Ride in) My Car". Wall Street Journal.
- Farivar, Cyrus (2012-09-28). "Transportation innovation: How Lyft and SideCar are changing commuting". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- Farivar, Cyrus (2012-11-14). "Lyft, SideCar, and Uber all slapped with $20K fines from CA regulator". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- Gannes, Liz (26 June 2012). "Sunil Paul’s SideCar Ride-Sharing App Will Flag a Stranger’s Car for You". AllThingsD. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- Leydon, Chris (2013-01-09). "SideCar Plans To Expand To 16 Cities, Including NYC, LA And Chicago". Thenextweb.com. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- McMemamin, Dan (2012-12-20). "CPUC Takes Step Toward Regulation Of Uber, Sidecar, And Lyft". SFAppeal. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- Hull, Dana (23 December 2012). "So-called 'sharing economy' comes under regulatory scrutiny". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- Huet, Ellen (2012-12-28). "Many choices for New Year's Eve rides". SFGate. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- Geron, Tomio (2013-02-14) "SideCar Acquires Austin's HeyRide, Launches in Los Angeles, Austin, Philadelphia". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Ha, Anthony (2013-02-25). "SideCar Says Three Philadelphia Drivers Caught in 'Sting' But It Plans To Continue Operations". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Grattan, Robert (2013-02-28). "SideCar to Austin: Bring it on". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Lawler, Ryan (2013-03-08). "SideCar Sues Austin Department of Transportation to Legitimize Ride Sharing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Wagner, Kurt (2013-03-12). "Carsharing catches on with Millennials". Fortune. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Gannes, Liz (2013-03-15). "Despite Controversy in Austin and Philly, Ride-Sharing Services SideCar Expands to Boston, Brooklyn and Chicago". AllThingsD. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Berman, Mark (2013-03-22). "SideCar, a new ride-sharing service, arrives in D.C.". Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Brustein, Joshua (2013-03-29). "A Ride Home That's Not a Taxi, Maybe". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Tam, Donna (2013-09-19). "California regulators approve ride-sharing guidelines". CNET. Retrieved 20-10-08.
- Rodriguez, Salvador (2013-11-15). "Sidecar: California riders will be required to pay minimum fares". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Tam, Donna (2013-11-18). "From Geek Street to Main Street: Ride sharing's road to a mass market". CNET. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- McBride, Sarah (2014-02-19). "Ridesharing service Sidecar raises $10 million, tweaks model". Reuters. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Fowler, Gregory (2014-03-12). "Testing UberX, Lyft and Sidecar Against a Cab in Six Cities". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Painter, Alysia Gray (2014-04-17). "Sidechella: Like Coachella, but in a Car". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Hughes, Sarah Anne (2014-04-30). "Sidecar Makes Case Against Proposed Regulations to Cab Commission". DCist. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Huet, Ellen (2014-06-12). "California Threatens To Shut Down Uber, Lyft, Sidecar Over Airport Rides". Forbes. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Lawler, Ryan (2014-06-29). "Sidecar Tests Out Shareable Rides, So Passengers Going In The Same Direction Can Split The Fare". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Tam, Donna (2014-08-06). "Sidecar says 13,000 passengers share rides, fares with strangers". CNET. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Shahani, Aarti (2014-08-25). "Some Call For More Sharing In Ridesharing". NPR All Things Considered. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Said, Carolyn (2014-09-12). "California says ride firms can't have carpools". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- Chernova, Yuliya (2014-09-15). "Facing Big Ride-Sharing Competitors, Sidecar Enlists Richard Branson". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-10-08.