The key to sustainable transportation isn’t limited to owning an electric vehicle. In fact, long-standing venture, RideShark, has been paving the way for inventive solutions for ridesharing and carpooling that remove barriers for folks looking to reduce their solo commute. With over 70 million people already served globally by its government, corporate and campus-centred solutions, RideShark continues to break new ground and is growing its enterprise commuter management solution to facilitate sustainable travel for employees, students, and the general public.
Founded by Sharon and Tom Lewinson, RideShark began with a core goal to reduce emissions by making more sustainable transportation options available and accessible. Designed as an enterprise solution offered to government, post secondary institutions and corporations, RideShark works closely with these channels to deploy custom solutions for each unique market their varying customer profiles, incentives and needs. Users can download RideShark’s mobile app or visit the desktop site to find carpooling or public transit options. Tools to track time, distance, emissions, fuel consumption, cost, and/or calories incentivize more eco-conscious commuter behaviour. As customers utilize RideShark to find sustainable transportation modes, users can earn points and leverage RideShark’s various partnerships to redeem gift cards or enter contests set out by individual enterprise account owners.
Developing these incentives allows us to engage our community of users and push them towards using more sustainable modes of transportation in a fun and rewarding way
Their interactive understanding of commuter behaviour is now a serious contributor to the rising adoption of sustainable transportation modes in North America.
RideShark is also a recent i.d.e.a. Fund recipient. Supported by a $10-million Government of Canada investment through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the i.d.e.a. Fund is led by Innovation Guelph in partnership with five Regional Innovation Centres (RICs): Wetech Alliance, Haltech, Innovate Niagara, Innovation Factory, and TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario. The program helps high-potential ventures access the tools they need to succeed by providing financial and business advisory supports to develop or redesign products, services, processes and technologies that reduce impacts on the environment and create made-in-Canada solutions.
“RideShark was a unique recipient of i.d.e.a. Fund, because the company had such a strong focus on its sales channels for its project milestones,” says Andrew Leest, Manager of Venture Growth at TechAlliance. “The funding was entirely allocated to strategy, and it was incredible to watch it pay off throughout the cohort term.” Looking to continue expanding its sales team, RideShark is accelerating outbound sales to build on enterprise relationships and continue to impact the way people think about commuter travel. “Our connection with the Venture Growth team at TechAlliance has revolutionized how we approach our outbound sales and has been an incredible source of knowledge to help us accelerate our growth,” says Hill.
Soon releasing advancements in its mobile app technology that allow enhanced live tracking and trip logging, as well as enhanced in-app communications, RideShark is fulfilling and exceeding its mission to change how commuters think about their travel. Empowering users to make educated, current and informed decisions because of real and accurate data and metrics, RideShark is taking to the streets with innovation that drives a positive impact for our planet.
To learn more about RideShark, go to www.rideshark.com
To learn more about The i.d.e.a Fund go to techalliance.ca/idea-fund
To learn more about FedDev Ontario, go to https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/feddev-ontario/en