Whoa: Split calls it quits on ridesharing in DC

Split, D.C.’s homegrown ridesharing app, announced via a blog post on Tuesday that the company will discontinue its service early next month.
The rides will officially cease on Oct. 3.

Important announcement: https://t.co/GHUIYc5cDp Thank you for all your support + stay tuned!

— Split (@ridesplit) September 27, 2016

Launched in May 2015, the ridesharing company celebrated one year of operation with a party at American Ice Company this summer. At the time, CEO Ario Keshani admitted to Technical.ly that the ridesharing space had become increasingly crowded since Split’s initial launch (see: uberPOOL and Lyft Line), but said that there were some hidden benefits to this, too.
“Uber and Lyft have actually helped us in some ways,” he said at the time. The very existence of their respective carpooling options has “validated our concept,” he said.
“There is a lot of demand for the kind of service we provide,” he added. And indeed, in the past months, Split has grown and expanded coverage area on the regular. The company outgrew its digs at 1776 at the beginning of the year, and moved in to WeWork in Dupont.
So what happened?
“The time has come for us to start a new chapter,” the blog post announces. “We will be discontinuing our shared ride service in DC to refocus our efforts on the next generation of transportation challenges.”
It’s unclear exactly what that will entail, but the blog post added that Split’s entire staff will stay on following this announcement, and that the company is working to find other employment for its drivers.
Find the full announcement here.