On-demand bus startup Bridj has raised $4 million in funding

Bridj, the on-demand private bus startup, said Thursday that it has raised $4 million in funding to help it expand beyond Greater Boston. The Cambridge company also said that it hired Gabe Klein, formerly a vice president at Zipcar, as its chief operating officer. Klein previously served as Chicago’s transportation department commissioner and as transportation department director in Washington, DC. The investment comes as Bridj expands its routes in Boston. But it may face regulation in Cambridge that could “essentially ban” the service in that city, founder Matt George said recently.

Bridj is like a shared ride service, but it’s with 15 people, and it’s on a bus. And there’s some flexibility to the route, depending on traffic and the needs of passengers. Customers simply input their origin, destination, and time of departure, and Bridj (pronounced “bridge”) tells them when and where to hop on one of its mini-buses. While some routes do end up getting used repeatedly, they’re not fixed like traditional bus lines. Bridj creates whatever routes that demand dictates. Ultimately, Bridj’s goal is to cut down on commute time, and offer rides that fit its customers’ needs. Bridj has been testing its service in Boston, and it’s been able to pick passengers up in under 10 minutes. It’s been filling about 70 percent of its 15-person mini-buses, on average, chief executive Matthew George said. Dynamic routing is a hot space. Lyft, Uber, and SideCar all recently launched carpooling services, which use similar technology (routing multiple passengers and figuring out optimal combinations of passengers and routes).