New Technologies Take Aim at Uber

Travel buyers soon could see a traffic jam of ridesharing options. Several emerging technologies are targeting the corporate travel sector. A mix of newcomers and familiar faces all hope to beat Uber at its own game with products they say address corporate duty-of-care concerns on platforms palatable to travelers weaned on the original innovator.

ICars launched last year in San Francisco and has spread to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Chicago. It plans to add Los Angeles and beyond according to president Ed Silver. Via both a mobile app and a Web portal, travelers can book cars for both on-demand and future rides in three tiers of cars: black cars, luxury SUVs and custom classics. More tiers are to come, he said.

While individual travelers can download and use the app, iCars was "built from the ground up for business travel professionals," Silver said. Travel buyers sign up and can assign booking agents, who then set up individual employees with access to the app. Buyers also get access to a portal through which they can access reporting on past, current and future rides.

Driver requirements are rigorous, Silver said. "You'll never be picked up by someone who isn't subject to background checks, random drug tests and who doesn't meet all state and local federal requirements of livery service," he said. "We don't allow contractors or students to drive you around. Our clients are discerning and folks who really believe duty of care means something."

While spreading iCars' national presence is the current priority, the company also is talking with potential partners like FCM Travel Solutions, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Concur and Expensify, he said. "Those APIs are next up for us; we just want to make sure the proposition and product are tight," Silver said.

Established chauffeured transportation suppliers are getting into the game, as well. Dav El|BostonCoach Transportation Network and EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services recently announced they and their affiliates are pooling their services into an on-demand luxury service platform to roll out in New York City this summer, followed by other U.S. markets. Travelers will be able to book through preferred suppliers' apps, and the closest vehicle able to respond will get the transaction with uniform pricing across the network, Dav El|BostonCoach CEO Scott Solombrino said.

Like Silver, Solombrino said duty of care would be the differentiator. "We're going to evolve to their technology, and they'll be forced to evolve to our duty of care," he said. "You cannot have people in personal cars driving around, not knowing who's driving the car. You don't get to skip drug testing, fingerprinting and background checks."

Similarly, Deem is leveraging its acquisition of Whisk to develop its own platform for both on-demand and traditional car bookings. Although president and COO John Rizzo cited similar duty-of-care benefits, he said the company's technology background also will put it at an advantage.

"Developing software at scale is much harder than it appears from the outside," he said. "We have 100 people dedicated on the engineering side building great software. As a software company, we ought to provide great software to everyone on the market and be the glue that holds all these together."

While not competing directly in on-demand car availability, other suppliers are increasing availability of "near-demand" car service. GroundLink, for example, is making cars available within 20 minutes of booking in several markets this year, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, London and Washington, D.C.

Of course, besting a behemoth like Uber will not be an easy task, even with a slew of new competitors. As ridesharing services gain ground in corporate travel, Uber has accounted for a significant majority of those gains, even against its chief competitor Lyft. While duty-of-care concerns continue to arise against Uber, travel policy bans of the service have become less common than a "look-the-other-way" approach. Uber also continues to tweak its offerings to become more attractive to managed travel programs.

Lyft, meanwhile, is looking for ways to work alongside chauffeured car providers. Speaking on a panel at the recent Global Business Travel Association convention, Lyft chief business officer David Baga said the company is talking to chauffeured car suppliers, including Carey International, about partnership opportunities.

"When we're talking to corporate travel managers across the country, their ground transportation data is a mess," Baga said. "I believe there's a world where you have a variety of different use occasions inside the company. You're going to have a black car company, and you're going to have a ridesharing company with Lyft. They want a unified customer experience and data transparency and reporting."