Startups

This Philly-made ridesharing app is gunning for the long-distance market

Atlas tests how long you'll ride with a stranger.

Since the app launched in May, about 100 drivers and riders have joined the platform. (Courtesy photo)

It’s MeetMe meets Uber, maybe?
Atlas, a newly launched Center City-based rideshare platform is making the rounds. The iOS app had a soft launch in May but had remained quiet until now.
Both Jonathan Corrin and Pierce Demarreau — the company’s cofounders — hail from Delaware, but set up camp in Philly to tap the commuter market.
“It’s a city that’s close to home and we know well,” said Corrin, a recent University of Delaware grad.
The pitch is simple enough: Atlas is billed as a lower-priced alternative to the big rideshare players like Uber and Lyft, but focusing more on long-distance trips.


Riders are charged a bit more for the miles the driver has to go out of their way to pickup a passenger.  “Once the driver makes the pickup, the pricing drops by about a fifth,” Corrin said.
But, and here’s were it gets interesting: the app has a Facebook hookup that lets drivers see friends in common and more social info.
“We want users to have the opportunity to match with someone they’d really like, someone they could share a beer with,” Corrin said.
Download for iOS
The numbers so far, Corrin admits, are looking small: there have been around 100 ride requests and 10 completed trips. Over the next six months, the company is gunning to bring its numbers up to 1,000 active users and 5,000 trips completed monthly.
Those are big goals for the novel app, which has not yet secured any funding. Can they make it happen? We’ll certainly keep an eye out.
Here’s the intro video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEDMrL_jg4

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