REVEL rideshare first launched in 2018 in New York City, and after four years of working in varying modes of transportation, the company is expanding to offer a rideshare service.
The newly formed rideshare comes as Uber and Lyft prices are increasing across the country.
Revel was first introduced in 2018 with installed moped stations located in Brooklyn, New York.
The company expanded its moped stations to Manhattan in 2021 with designated dropoff areas.
It branched into NYC bikes and the company appeared to not have an identity until September 2021 when the company announced it would be introducing rideshares.
The Revel rideshare uses only electric-operated Teslas and is meant to be a more eco-friendly option for riders.
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The founder and CEO Frank Reig told TechCrunch, “From day one, our mission has been to electrify cities.
“We do that by providing electric transportation options needed in cities, as well as building the electric vehicle infrastructure needed to make that happen.”
According to Revel’s website, every driver is carefully vetted, and rather than use individual contractors, each driver is employed directly by the company and they are provided with benefits, health insurance, and a 401k.
Reig said safety is a major focus of the company, making sure Revel owns their Tesla vehicles so they can be kept to the company’s specifications.
“There’s also a safety piece when you’re talking about a fleet,” he said.
“Because it’s our fleet, we’re able to understand exactly the acceleration, the speed, and the braking of the car at all times.
“Every single driver that we employ and train will be getting safety scores at the end of every shift so they can improve their driving. So now, we’re able to lower insurance costs and liabilities.”
Revel’s rideshare option is being rolled out in New York City, and currently has a waitlist for those wishing to access the app.
The company will operate as a taxi service, offering lower rates to riders and an eco-friendly option for commuting around the city.
While riders wait for Revel’s rideshare option to become available, the company owns a number of mopeds in the city, primarily located in Manhattan.
Riders can download the Revel app on iOS or Android and are required to enter their driver’s license and take a quick moped tutorial before gaining access to the moped stations.
The app allows riders to join the waitlist for when rideshare becomes available and says the option is “coming soon.”
Revel has expanded to Miami, Florida, Washington, DC, and San Francisco, California, but the rideshare option will only be available in New York City to start.
Riders originally were able to access Revel only below 42nd Street in Manhattan, but the company announced in April 2022 that it would be moving up to 96th Street.
West Side Rag reported that Revel’s hours of operation would run from 5am to 2am.
The rideshare option will also provide a one-way commute directly to Newark Airport, Laguardia Airport, and JFK Airport, but only to those being picked up in Manhattan.
The website posted in April 2022 that they “are planning to expand our service zone soon!”
Reig told Axios that the delay in Revel’s expansion comes from the lack of charging hubs throughout New York City.
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“The real issue here, in cities like New York, is that if we’re going to electrify rideshare and push EV adoption, there’s a huge missing ingredient. There is no charging infrastructure in cities. It doesn’t exist,” Reig said.
“It needs to be built, and it needs to be built now or else no city will meet their electric vehicle target. None of them will.”
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