Chariot was a commuter shuttle service owned by the Ford Motor Company. The company's mobile-phone application allowed passengers to ride a shuttle between home and work during commuting hours. Chariot operated in cities in the United States and Europe. New routes were determined based on demographic information and crowdsourced data.[1][2] The company ceased shuttle operations in February 2019.
In March 2014, co-founders Ali Vahabzadeh and Romain Di Vuolo established Chariot after leaving their jobs at a real-estate start-up. After a summer in the nonprofit Tumml incubator, Chariot graduated from the program and expanded San Francisco coverage to the Marina, Financial District, SoMa, and Pacific Heights.[3]
On September 9, 2016, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that the Ford Motor Company would be acquiring Chariot Transit Inc via their subsidiary Ford Smart Mobility for an undisclosed amount (reported to be $65 million[4]). In 2018 Ford Smart Mobility appointed Dan Grossman interim CEO while Ali Vahabzadeh continued to be involved in the company's progress as a board member.[5]
On January 10, 2019, Chariot announced that it would be ceasing operations as of March 2019.[6] The final day of operations was January 25, 2019, in the UK and February 1, 2019, in the US.[7]
The company operated 14-seat passenger vans along specific fixed routes, operating during weekday morning and evening commute hours only. As of June 2016, the company operated twenty-five routes.[8]
A commuter could access Chariot via a mobile web browser or its iPhone or Android mobile apps. After signing up and purchasing Chariot credits, they used the map to find a pickup stop. The commuter's boarding pass was displayed in the app in the form of a flashing code. As of May 2016, passengers had the option of pay-as-you-go; multi-ride packs of credits, such as $100 in credit for $95; or an all-access pass for $119. There were also pass packages for am-only riders or off-peak riders from $68 and $89 respectively.[9]
Chariot also offered charter and enterprise commuter services.
In Denver, the University of Denver (DU) route was deemed a success. The other route, between downtown, Capitol Hill, and Cherry Creek gave only 110 rides over 2.5 months; the city paid $250,000 for six months of free rides on this route.[13]
In February 2018, Chariot Transit UK Ltd launched four services in Greater LondoninKidbrooke, Belvedere, Battersea, and Wandsworth.[14] A fifth service to Stockley Park was proposed later in 2018. Due to poor uptake, Chariot announced that the London services would end in January 2019.[15]
