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The Last Bus Startup Standing: Chariot

30 points by doppp 11y ago

ucaetano 11y ago
"Because Chariot is a consumer web and mobile startup with a direct relationship to its users through an app" It is hilarious how these companies are called "web and mobile startups". People have been buying vans, buses and cars and running their own lines in emerging markets for over half a century in a profitable and sustainable way, and taking ride requests over SMS, WhatsApp and what not.
- daveguy 11y ago
  But those companies operating for half a century hadn't done it with a cell phone app. It's like pets.com and their unique angle of doing business on the web. Ok, sarcasm aside, the article does point out a lot of quick-adaptation risk-reducing operations -- from not "cowboying it" with the law to getting card info from a critical mass before opening a route. It's an interesting read. Looks like there's a reason they've gone more amazon than pets.com (although it probably can't scale like amazon).
  - ucaetano 11y ago
    I agree with that point, but that's just a different form of market research, nothing new to see here. Instead of doing surveys over the phone or on the street, they're using an app.
- akgerber 11y ago
  "Chariot is Alexis Van Lines with an app" would also be a fair phrasing. Alexis Van Lines is a longstanding NYC dollar van operator that has also agilely branches out into new routes: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/34/all_rockawaybuswar_2012_08_24_bk.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/34/all_rockawaybuswa...
mrdrozdov 11y ago
I used Chariot to get to work in SOMA from the Marina since they launched (now I live in NYC). The problem they're talking about is no joke. If they didn't exist, I'd have to walk 10 blocks to get to an earlier stop on my line. Alternatively, I'd walk 10min up a hill to get on a bus that took 45min to get to my office, which was less than 3miles away from my apartment. When not using Chariot, I ended up biking to work (about 30min) out of pure necessity. There's unnecessary efficiency in the bus routes. Chariot's advantage for the Marina to SOMA route is that the majority of people riding that bus route are heading to SOMA, but the bus makes a lot of windy stops in China Town. There should really be two lines, one that exclusively serves China Town from the Marina, and one that exclusively serves SOMA. During rush hour, Chariot adjusts its route based on traffic sometimes saving 10-20min a roundtrip. It has the flexibility to do so since it bypasses China Town.
- chrisseaton 11y ago
  > I'd walk 10min up a hill to get on a bus that took 45min to get to my office Why not just walk the 3 miles directly? It would take less than 55 mins for sure.
  - __john 11y ago
    Google tells me the average human walks 3.1 miles per hour. So I'm guessing it would take at least 55 minutes, no less.
  - mrdrozdov 11y ago
    Google Maps indicates an hour walk. MapMyWalk show a 186 elevation gain, which I suppose is not too terrible considering it gradually increases until about the halfway point, and then gradually decreases. Add a laptop and hefty book into the mix, and you've got yourself an equation for one sweaty commuter. I've also used Scoot which gets me to work a little faster than Chariot, but depends on there being scooters available and is more of a commitment than Chariot given Scoot's subscription (Scoot is awesome though!). Quite a few of my coworkers gave up on any sort of shared transit, and drive to work pretty regularly. As a comparison, it took me a little over an hour to get to work using the CalTrain when I lived in Palo Alto and had a 35mile commute. Another example would be going from Chelsea to the Lower East Side in NYC (about the same distance as Marina to SOMA). Takes between 25-30min using the subway on Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Chelsea,+New+York,+NY/Lower+East+Side,+New+York,+NY/@40.730113,-74.0109428,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c259b082b8c8a7:0x2e54eb9ab02636f0!2m2!1d-74.0013737!2d40.7465004!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c2598015ac8beb:0x59b849fea56b6a70!2m2!1d-73.9842724!2d40.715033!3e3 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Chelsea,+New+York,+NY/Lower+... The Marina to SOMA takes closer to 40min, but that's assuming you can get on the bus, which during rush hour is surprisingly difficult (like the article refers, you might wait 3-5 buses to find one with space). https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marina+District,+San+Francisco,+CA/SoMa,+San+Francisco,+CA/@37.7922442,-122.4392007,14z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2fa533fc767a3:0x663c92cc7cdbfe36!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x808580d79ae5a51b:0x3c50fe8f3930832!2m2!1d-122.4368151!2d37.8036667!1m5!1m1!1s0x80858083a662307b:0xfd99010c2dc1f950!2m2!1d-122.4056395!2d37.7785189!3e3 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marina+District,+San+Francis...
theinternetman 11y ago
Let's hope not for long, found that trend of "busses without the poor people" a disgusting concept for a business.
- mrdrozdov 11y ago
  IIRC, Chariot is $4/ride and the bus is $2.50/ride.
- sevensor 11y ago
  I totally disagree with you, but I think this is an important point and you shouldn't be getting downvotes for it. I ride a city bus pretty routinely, although I don't live in SF. I would still ride the city bus if Chariot came to town, but I think "busses without the poor people" might be a good way to get the snobs you're sneering at onto transit and out of their private vehicles.
- akgerber 11y ago
  Poor immigrant communities also have long histories of filling gaps in public transit services with dollar vans— this is just a dollar van from a rich neighborhood with a publicist: http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-mta-doesnt-want-to-take-you-to-work.html http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-mta-doesnt-want-t...
zhte415 11y ago
OK, out of scope for what happens in San Francisco, but to put them on the map a little in China and certainly related to bus startups: pandabus.cn are a small startup that provide real-time bus mapping (i.e., where is my next bus going to arrive - public busses) and private busses (either their own, or owned by someone else) for some cities in China. While privately shared busses are an old thing, they're consolidating everything together quite well and making it much more transparent. I have no affiliation, other than being a user of their app, and while I've not met them, I understand they're a small team of around 20 people based in a technology building not far from me. Support your neighbours, etc.

30 points by doppp 11y ago

"Because Chariot is a consumer web and mobile startup with a direct relationship to its users through an app" It is hilarious how these companies are called "web and mobile startups". People have been buying vans, buses and cars and running their own lines in emerging markets for over half a century in a profitable and sustainable way, and taking ride requests over SMS, WhatsApp and what not.

daveguy 11y ago
But those companies operating for half a century hadn't done it with a cell phone app. It's like pets.com and their unique angle of doing business on the web. Ok, sarcasm aside, the article does point out a lot of quick-adaptation risk-reducing operations -- from not "cowboying it" with the law to getting card info from a critical mass before opening a route. It's an interesting read. Looks like there's a reason they've gone more amazon than pets.com (although it probably can't scale like amazon).
- ucaetano 11y ago
  I agree with that point, but that's just a different form of market research, nothing new to see here. Instead of doing surveys over the phone or on the street, they're using an app.
akgerber 11y ago
"Chariot is Alexis Van Lines with an app" would also be a fair phrasing. Alexis Van Lines is a longstanding NYC dollar van operator that has also agilely branches out into new routes: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/34/all_rockawaybuswar_2012_08_24_bk.html http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/34/all_rockawaybuswa...

mrdrozdov 11y ago

I used Chariot to get to work in SOMA from the Marina since they launched (now I live in NYC). The problem they're talking about is no joke. If they didn't exist, I'd have to walk 10 blocks to get to an earlier stop on my line. Alternatively, I'd walk 10min up a hill to get on a bus that took 45min to get to my office, which was less than 3miles away from my apartment. When not using Chariot, I ended up biking to work (about 30min) out of pure necessity. There's unnecessary efficiency in the bus routes. Chariot's advantage for the Marina to SOMA route is that the majority of people riding that bus route are heading to SOMA, but the bus makes a lot of windy stops in China Town. There should really be two lines, one that exclusively serves China Town from the Marina, and one that exclusively serves SOMA. During rush hour, Chariot adjusts its route based on traffic sometimes saving 10-20min a roundtrip. It has the flexibility to do so since it bypasses China Town.

chrisseaton 11y ago
> I'd walk 10min up a hill to get on a bus that took 45min to get to my office Why not just walk the 3 miles directly? It would take less than 55 mins for sure.
- __john 11y ago
  Google tells me the average human walks 3.1 miles per hour. So I'm guessing it would take at least 55 minutes, no less.
- mrdrozdov 11y ago
  Google Maps indicates an hour walk. MapMyWalk show a 186 elevation gain, which I suppose is not too terrible considering it gradually increases until about the halfway point, and then gradually decreases. Add a laptop and hefty book into the mix, and you've got yourself an equation for one sweaty commuter. I've also used Scoot which gets me to work a little faster than Chariot, but depends on there being scooters available and is more of a commitment than Chariot given Scoot's subscription (Scoot is awesome though!). Quite a few of my coworkers gave up on any sort of shared transit, and drive to work pretty regularly. As a comparison, it took me a little over an hour to get to work using the CalTrain when I lived in Palo Alto and had a 35mile commute. Another example would be going from Chelsea to the Lower East Side in NYC (about the same distance as Marina to SOMA). Takes between 25-30min using the subway on Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Chelsea,+New+York,+NY/Lower+East+Side,+New+York,+NY/@40.730113,-74.0109428,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c259b082b8c8a7:0x2e54eb9ab02636f0!2m2!1d-74.0013737!2d40.7465004!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c2598015ac8beb:0x59b849fea56b6a70!2m2!1d-73.9842724!2d40.715033!3e3 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Chelsea,+New+York,+NY/Lower+... The Marina to SOMA takes closer to 40min, but that's assuming you can get on the bus, which during rush hour is surprisingly difficult (like the article refers, you might wait 3-5 buses to find one with space). https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marina+District,+San+Francisco,+CA/SoMa,+San+Francisco,+CA/@37.7922442,-122.4392007,14z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2fa533fc767a3:0x663c92cc7cdbfe36!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x808580d79ae5a51b:0x3c50fe8f3930832!2m2!1d-122.4368151!2d37.8036667!1m5!1m1!1s0x80858083a662307b:0xfd99010c2dc1f950!2m2!1d-122.4056395!2d37.7785189!3e3 https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marina+District,+San+Francis...

theinternetman 11y ago

Let's hope not for long, found that trend of "busses without the poor people" a disgusting concept for a business.

mrdrozdov 11y ago
IIRC, Chariot is $4/ride and the bus is $2.50/ride.
sevensor 11y ago
I totally disagree with you, but I think this is an important point and you shouldn't be getting downvotes for it. I ride a city bus pretty routinely, although I don't live in SF. I would still ride the city bus if Chariot came to town, but I think "busses without the poor people" might be a good way to get the snobs you're sneering at onto transit and out of their private vehicles.
akgerber 11y ago
Poor immigrant communities also have long histories of filling gaps in public transit services with dollar vans— this is just a dollar van from a rich neighborhood with a publicist: http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-mta-doesnt-want-to-take-you-to-work.html http://capntransit.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-mta-doesnt-want-t...

zhte415 11y ago

OK, out of scope for what happens in San Francisco, but to put them on the map a little in China and certainly related to bus startups: pandabus.cn are a small startup that provide real-time bus mapping (i.e., where is my next bus going to arrive - public busses) and private busses (either their own, or owned by someone else) for some cities in China. While privately shared busses are an old thing, they're consolidating everything together quite well and making it much more transparent. I have no affiliation, other than being a user of their app, and while I've not met them, I understand they're a small team of around 20 people based in a technology building not far from me. Support your neighbours, etc.