DENVER — A new, local competitor to rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft launched across the state of Colorado this week.
The new app is called Drivers Coop Colorado, and every driver for the company is part-owner in the cooperative.
The nonprofit Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center has been supporting the development of Drivers Coop Colorado. Executive director Minsun Ji believes a rideshare company is a perfect fit for employee-ownership.
“It has been long years of struggles and efforts to get here, but our workers are super excited and happy because this app works very well,” said Ji. “Also, this is the very first community-led rideshare app that has been developed by a community organization right here in the United States.”
The creators of the app have three major goals: Increase the wages of drivers by having 80% of the fare money go directly to them, reduce the price of fares for riders by eliminating the overhead that comes from a traditional business where CEOs make a disproportionate amount of money, and provide rides to often-marginalized communities like the elderly, disabled, and previously incarcerated.
“A lot of disability communities also like to use our app right now because the service is good, and the fair is also very good,” said Ji. “A lot of those communities will use a prescheduled trip to make sure that we actually have that wheelchair-accessible van.”
Right now, about 250 drivers are working under Drivers Coop Colorado. That means the wait times for a ride are typically longer than with other rideshare apps. But with about 1,600 drivers in the application process, the board of directors thinks the wait times will decrease in the coming weeks. They expect to see the numbers of drivers and riders take off.
“Most of the drivers have had a situation where their voice is not heard, they're just drivers,” said Isaac Chinyoka, director of operations for Drivers Coop Colorado. “But here, as a part of this coop, they can talk. They can speak their mind. They feel that they belong here.”
Dereje Kebede, a rideshare driver who has been involved with the new app for the last nine months, agrees.
“We’re going to be part of the owners,” said Kebede. “We have a bigger say in how this business operates down as we move forward.”
He also believes the app will be attractive for riders looking to help local drivers and the local economy.
“By downloading the app and then joining this movement, they are helping themselves,” said Kebede. “But also know that their money is going to go more at the fare, 80% to the drivers.”
If you are interested in learning more about the app, downloading the app for rides, or applying to become a driver, you can follow this link to their website.
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