Locally owned rideshare is booming



SEATTLE, WA – A local rideshare company is blowing up thanks to the #deleteuber boycott.

Ride-sharing has boomed into a multi-billion dollar industry, with Uber and Lyft dominating the market.

But with Uber taking a PR beating earlier this year – for not distancing itself from the Trump campaign and how they reacted to the travel ban – the market is opening up.

The backlash received by beloved rideshare company Uber can be felt through tens of thousands of venomous tweets when you search #deleteuber on Twitter.

The nationwide boycott - sparked by just one tweet on January 28th: “Surge pricing has been turned off at JFK airport.”

The tweet went out on the same day President Trump’s first travel ban went into effect, and in the middle of an hour-long strike by JFK taxi drivers. Thousands of Uber users felt the company was not only trying to make a buck and undermining nationwide protests that day, but some felt Uber was outright supporting the trump administration

The backlash: massive. Over 200,000 people deleted the app after #deleteuber blew up on social media.

"The #deleteuber movement brought in an upward of tens of thousands of customers to our platform overnight," Godwin Gabriel, Chief Executive of Moovn, said with a huge smile.

Godwin Gabriel, Tanzanian immigrant and University of Washington graduate, is the brain behind Seattle-based rideshare Moovn. The rideshare has been around for three years in 9 cities, but in just under four months they’ve more than tripled their coverage area.

"We welcome the opportunity, but it just means that we have to realize our growth faster than projected,” Gabriel explained from his swanky Downtown office. "We built Moovn as a platform that bridges all sorts of people, all walks of life without discriminating upon anyone. And I'm sure you've heard in this particular industry, there is a lot of discrimination going on but we don't serve a purpose, we just serve the people."

So what sets Moovn apart? It works just like the other guys but there’s no surge pricing ever (!) and customers can pre-schedule rides up to a month in advance. You have the ability to pay in cash and drivers retain 85% of the fare. (Uber drivers keep 75%.)

Non-profit manager and Seattle native Adrian Day says for her using Moovn isn’t a political move, it’s about making another type of statement.

"We don't know who's tied to what. I really don't have anything to say in regards to Trump and their affiliations. I choose not to use Uber and Lyft and I choose Moovn because it works best for me,” Day explained from the back of a Moovn suburban. " it is a black owned business and as a black woman I feel proud to spend my dollars with someone who is doing something wonderful not only for themselves but also for the community not only for this community but also in other countries."

Moovn is currently in 25 cities with ambitious plans to be in 105 by the end of the year because the demand is there, but in the interim it might take a while to get that ride.

“We are thankful for our supporters they've been very steadfast and very patient as we as we get out the kinks a lot of people understand we are rising up to the occasion,” Gabriel added.

Gabriel realizes it’s an uphill battle, but in burgeoning Seattle, the epicenter of all things possible, there’s room to get Moovn!

Apply to be a driver for Moovn at Moovn.com