OAKLAND, Calif. – Arrive Ride Services is a new, members-only concierge service that connects seniors to the services of Lyft and Uber. These companies are exclusively app-based, but 73 percent of Americans over the age of 65 do not own a smartphone and therefore have no access to on-demand rides. Arrive seeks to connect these users to safe, reliable transportation by serving as an intermediary between the rider and established ride services.
The company was co-founded by Amy Stice, who had been searching for a transportation solution for her 92-year-old grandmother, and Elizabeth Legg, a start-up veteran and long-time friend.
“I was looking for a way for my grandmother to get around that felt as easy as going out into her driveway and getting into her Camry,” Stice said. “Arrive was created to be that. My grandmother talks to a friendly person on the phone and a ride can pick her up from home in under ten minutes. Like a lot of her friends, she carries a flip-phone, so it’s simple for her to call us again to get picked up from her destination.”
Arrive members pay a one-time sign-up fee of $30, and a $5 monthly membership fee. Each ride costs $3 over the cost billed by the ride service. Arrive maintains detailed records on each member, including their favorite destinations, so ordering a ride will always be easy and members never need to worry about looking up addresses in advance of requesting a trip.
The Arrive concierge line (866-ARRIVE-8) is now open from 9 am to 6 pm Pacific time, seven days a week, and is currently staffed by Arrive’s co-founders. Arrive is able to dispatch rides in any market served by Uber or Lyft, and to schedule rides in advance. Every dispatched ride is monitored by an Arrive concierge.
I am an UBER driver and have firsthand experiences that underscore how valuable your business model would be here in northern New Jersey. Maybe I can help?