Lyft or Uber? You’ve asked yourself this question hundreds of times and you know how annoying it is to open up both apps to compare prices and ETAs. Well now there is an app that does the legwork for you. FairFare, the app comparing available ridesharing apps and recommending the best route for you, takes arrival time, price, and ETA into consideration.
AlleyWatch chatted with cofounder and CEO Adero Davis about the company and what the future of ridesharing looks like.
Tell us about FairFare.
FairFare is a direct booking ride share app that compares the cost, arrival and ETA times of ride shares. Currently we have Uber/Lyft on the platform and are looking to onboard additional ride share companies. Our motto is we share knowledge like they share the economy which allows riders to #chooseyourride
How is FairFare different?
We are the only ride share app that has the two biggest ride share companies on our platform, and we are the only platform that alleviates the need for you to have additional ride share applications downloaded on your phone. Further we are the app that will be paying people to ride via our rewards program with Amazon beginning in late May. We also have a feature whereby we will recommend the best ride based on our own algorithm, which alleviates one particular ride share always popping up first because they may be cheaper. We want to remain neutral in the space so this feature personalizes the experience for the rider and calibrates things for the individual companies.
What inspired the business?
I was living in Jersey City with a friend and had 4 different ride share apps downloaded on my phone, and kept toggling, and when I left one app because they were surging I’d toggle back to a different app and that would surge…needless to say I was getting very frustrated. I had to turn off my phone and turn it back on to reset and get a fair price. At which point I thought this is dumb there should be one place to view my options and make my life easier. So I figured why not that person be me?!
What market does FairFare attack and how big is it?
We are attacking the ride share market, which is projected to grow to $285B by 2030 according to Goldman Sachs Equity research report.
What is the business model?
We charge a .50 cent flat fee to the rider for every ride booked via our app.
Your company recently participated in Peak Pitch. Would you tell us about your experience?
Peak Pitch was great as I got to meet other founders at different stages and hear their struggles and triumphs. It was comforting being around a group of people who understand what it is like to try and build a co. I also met really good connections that have assisted the growth of FairFare. It was also a lot of fun snowboarding.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We plan to onboard 2 additional ride share apps and grow our user base in NYC to 20K active users along with begin our seed round fundraising.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
Upon beginning I wasn’t told that a startup is a marathon not a sprint. The narrative in the space makes it seem like the Airbnb’s and Uber’s happen overnight when in reality it’s a long, challenging yet rewarding journey.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Jay-Z, because he has an interesting story. But a more feasible meet would be the Founder of Juno, we know they sold to GETT but it’s my ride share of choice and we’d love to get them on the platform.
Why did you launch in New York?
NYC does 20% of the global ride shares and we live and are from here. It’s such a nuanced city as far as travel is concerned and with the plethora of companies entering the market we figured it would be the best place to start. You know the old saying…if you can make it here you can make it anywhere.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Gramercy Tavern. Food is so delicious and the service is just as divine.
