New driver service wants to challenge Uber, Lyft in city rides

Blacklane is committed to serving a narrow portion of the ride-hailing market targeting corporate customers. It uses premium or luxury chauffeur driven vehicles and offers services such as baggage handling, opening doors for passengers and other amenities.

The ride-hailing industry was hit hard by the pandemic when lockdowns brought mass transportation to a halt. Uber and Lyft said in February that the number of rides booked had halved in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier.

The industry has adapted. Uber’s food delivery service helped it get through the nadir in its core offering. Blacklane’s new inner-city service is part of a similar effort, using existing drivers who previously only served the airports to provide the same driver service for journeys in the cities where they operate.

While Uber and Lyft dominate the broader market, the much smaller Blacklane initially sought to create a niche with an app offering chauffeured rides to and from airports, available in 300 cities worldwide at the latest.

That company came to a halt when the virus grounded most air travel. That’s why Blacklane launched an intercity service in the US in December to attract business travelers wary of taking overcrowded trains and short-haul flights. Travelers can book a Blacklane driver for a trip from New York to Boston for $ 399, about half the cost of an Uber or Lyft ride on the same route.

With the new inner city service, Blacklane hopes to attract the same corporate, safety-conscious audience. It combines a traditional luxury limousine service with the convenience of a booking app.

“Dependent on travel and airports, we were at the forefront of the pandemic,” said Mr. Wohltorf, who co-founded the company in 2011, said there was still a resurgence of international travel on the horizon. “But cities are back; they are mobile. Inner-city mobility is recovering well. ”

Mr. Wohltorf and his investors were targeting a possible IPO next year, but they have delayed the plan until 2023 at the earliest, he said.

“The longer we wait, the more valuable we become and the more impact we will have. There is no reason to be hectic, ”he said.

Last month, Blacklane acquired a majority stake in Havn, the all-electric driver service Jaguar Land Rover launched in 2019 to help Blacklane transition to an all-electric fleet.

Write to William Boston at [email protected]

Corrections and reinforcements
Uber and Lyft said in February that the number of rides booked had halved in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. An earlier version of this article incorrectly suggested that the statements were made in January. (Corrected on February 28, 2021.)