Another startup with rides by and for the ladies rolled into Orlando earlier this month. If you believe its tag line, the company will transform the city’s “neighborhoods into sisterhoods” by offering safe rides for passengers and above-market pay rates for drivers. We’ll see.
Well before this year’s spate of disturbing incidents involving Uber or Lyft drivers or men impersonating them – kidnappings in Alabama, murder in South Carolina and New York, and a kidnapping and sexual assault arrest near Phoenix just yesterday to name a few – the ride-hail market had been effectively segmented into safety-focused transportation services for your active kids, your vulnerable grandparents, and all of us Uber-cautious women. Those are, those of us who might swipe up a ride or start a side hustle, but hesitate because we don’t know who else will be in the car.
All of the founders of those new twists on the benchmark disrupter are quick to tell you that they’re not really Uber for a particular niche. They take more precautions on behalf of their passengers. That’s their critical market differentiation: they’re safer.
Tweak that adjective’s spelling and you get Safr, the Boston-based company which might fill the void left by the stylishly branded See Jane Go, albeit in a different area. That southern California-based, father-and-daughter-run company shut down in January 2018 after it launched to strong press and consistent booking for its pre-scheduled rides but ultimately ran out of capital.
Orlando is Safr’s second city. It appears from the website that it will take its concept national by franchise. It is not clear if its new central Florida outpost is the work of founders or the company’s first franchisee.
Going on the press release announcing the Orlando launch and operational details outlined on the Safr website, the company’s messaging is focused on female empowerment on both sides of the transaction – drivers earn income that Safr claims hold above ride-hail market averages and women get safe and reliable transportation – and on local social impact. The press release touted City of Orlando’s After School All-Stars program to provide limited free rides for high school students enrolled in the Opportunity Jobs Academy while the website notes each ride contributes to “charities that support women, children, animals, and communities.”
But the company did not explain its claims when asked. Emails to spokesperson Kelly O’Shea on June 12 and June 21 weren’t returned. Consequently, it is not known how students qualify for free rides and up to what limits, how the company determined that women make up less than 25% of drivers in the ridesharing space and make on average 34% less than men, how exactly it monitors rides from a command center and how much of each ride it donates to which non-profits.
The customer experience can’t yet be gauged from reviews. While pre-scheduled rides became available on June 14 in downtown Orlando, the Android and iPhone apps to order on-demand service aren’t expected until August.
