The ride-sharing market isn’t exactly crowded, but it’s extremely competitive. Uber is the only ride-sharing service that operates on a global scale, and is the undisputed market leader, but it still has to work for its money. A number of local ride-sharing services have ensured that Uber doesn’t go unchallenged, especially in Asia, and it’s even having to face stiff competition in its home market thanks to Lyft. However, the number of American competitors decreased by one earlier today, as Sidecar co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul has announced that his company is pulling out of the ride-sharing and crowd-sourced delivery market in order to focus on other areas.
Today is a turning point for Sidecar as we prepare to end our ride and delivery service so we can work on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing. We will cease ride and delivery operations at 2PM Pacific Time, December 31. I’m extremely proud of our team and all that we’ve accomplished. We are the innovation leader in ridesharing despite a significant capital disadvantage, continually rolling out new products that set the bar for others to follow. Long ago we conceived of the technology that gave rise to the rideshare movement. And nearly four years ago we invented what is now known as “ridesharing” with an app that connected riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle. People loved it. It was safe, convenient and affordable, and it quickly caught on. In the years that followed we launched a series of firsts, continually reinventing the category and making ridesharing safer, more convenient and affordable. We pivoted to a Marketplace model where people could choose their ride and drivers set their own price. We were the first to introduce important innovations like Destination, turn-by-turn directions, Shared ETA, Shared Rides and Back-to-Back rides. Last February we launched Sidecar Deliveries and became the #1 business-to-business delivery service in the country in a matter of months.
