Russians launch rival Uber and Lyft in the USA

Photo: austininno.streetwise.co

After Uber and Lyft left the city of Austin in the state of Texas, a Boston start-up spoke about his desire to occupy a taxi niche here FastThe co-founders of which were entrepreneurs from Krasnodar Region.

In May, the Austin residents 2016 voted to tighten the rules for drivers Uber and Lyft, demanding from them to take fingerprints, and the company decided to leave the city.

It turned out to be a service Fasten: He quickly - on June 1, 2016 - opened his branch.

In Krasnodar, co-founder and head of the company Kirill Yevdakov and businessman Roman Levitsky belong in digital-agency Rutorika, and also Levitsky - the founder of an advertising agency Ruport.

“Once a taxi founder approached us Saturn Yevgeny Lvov. At first, he was just a client, but he liked the team, and in 2014, he also decided to invest in our business with the condition that we would create our own projects, ”Yevdakov told the publication VC.

Photo: dg-yug.ru

Evgeny Lvov, having worked in the taxi service for more than 15 years, knew all the details from A to Z and was seriously focused on the international market. He once started everything himself. He put his wife and mother on the phones by dispatchers, agreed with the drivers and waited for applications. But since the town was small and not everyone had fixed phones in 90, it was unprofitable. Eugene decided not to stop and connect the neighboring cities. Business began to flourish when telephones became not a luxury, but a necessity. His company Saturn for a long time was profitable, and the time for filing a taxi was faster than that Uber.

Then they decided that they could build their own taxi service in the USA.

Name Fast appeared while working on a new application. Its development took about one and a half years, after which in 2015, the service started in Boston. Co-founders of the company, in addition to Cyril Yevdakov, were Roman Levitsky, Yevgeny Lvov and Vlad Kristov.

Prior to this, the company found investors and raised $ 10,5 million.

The startup focused on drivers who were uncomfortable working in the same place. The company's slogan read: “ridesharingovoy application that puts drivers in the first place”, and the main proposal - no commissions in the amount of 25 – 28%, only $ 0,99 for the trip.

Photo: fasten.com screenshot

The idea of ​​a fixed tariff was transferred from Russia; in the USA, taxis did not work this way before.

Fixed drivers are checked by the company, and then they are informed about the verification of fingerprints in the city, which uses a third-party company for verification. The city then approves drivers for 24-48 hours. After approval, the driver proceeds to work.

The company has an office in Moscow, Krasnodar and Boston, as well as two offices for working with drivers in Boston and Austin. In the near future, the company plans to start in another city.

In the US through Fast 3 has already made millions of trips.

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