What is an Uber and Lyft fleet owner, what do they do, and what is the competition/landscape like for fleet owners? Today I’m chatting with Nick Williams of Sally, a company in the fleet ownership space. We’ll be talking about what it’s like being a fleet owner, Sally’s expansion out of New York, electric vehicles, and more.
Just wanted to mention one of our partners, Ed Walker, a Micromobility and Shared Practice Leader at USI Insurance. Ed can help new companies in the shared fleet space find coverage through commercial carriers, and he’s one of several of our partners in the B2B space.
Listen to this episode on your phone here.
Intro to Nick Williams
- Co-founder and CEO of Sally, a tech and finance company that owns and operates a fleet of rideshare vehicles and yellow taxis in NYC
- Recently expanded to Chicago and LA
- Allows drivers to use flexible and short term leases
- Background in finance has helped him grow the business
Fleet Owner Business
- Evolution of fleet ownership – from rental cars (like Hertz, etc.) to purer form of fleet ownership (like Sally)
- Aim is to provide professional, reliable rideshare vehicles
- Fleet owner provides one-stop shop for rideshare drivers to get a vehicle
- Goal is to get drivers on the road with a professional, reliable vehicle
Demand and Landscape of Fleet Ownership
- Seems like a lot of demand, but challenging business
- Pandemic has created a new market landscape
- Growth is crucial to Sally right now
- Logistically intense business
Tesla Taxis
- Electric Tesla taxicab in New York – the first one is here!
- Aggressively bringing on new Teslas in NY and in other cities
- All electric car – excited about the future of bringing more of these
- Challenges: logistics, charging, etc.
Charging Infrastructure
- Can find cheaper hybrid cars – why electric?
- Tesla is pushing for expansion in charger network
- Plan for new model of charging – more than just chargers on the side of a highway
- Goal is to get cost of energy down, figure out when demand is highest, etc.
Uber + Lyft Incentives for EV Drivers
- Both companies, and others, in this space are focused on certain sustainable metrics
- Difficult to impose restrictions or requirements on drivers
- Fleet owners + rideshare companies can work together to scale access to EVs and charging
- Can incentivize drivers to transition to EVs
Outro
- Thanks to Nick for coming on the podcast and sharing his insight into the EV space
- EVs are clearly the future of ridehail and fleets – so many positive aspects
- Renting out cars to drivers in NYC, Chicago and LA
Show Notes
- RSG139: Ed Walker on Managing Insurance for Shared Mobility Operators
- The Clean Air Plan (from Uber’s Website)
- Uber promises 100% electric vehicles by 2040, commits $800 million to help drivers switch
- DriveSally.com
- RSG144: Sam Arons on Lyft’s Transition to Electric Vehicles
-Harry @ RSG
👉 Do you use an EV to drive for rideshare or delivery? Join our Facebook Group for EV gig drivers for discussions about the current state and future of EVs.
