After expanding into Houston in 2020, Dallas-based on-demand ride company Alto is working to create a larger presence in the market.
The ride-hailing company plans to move into a larger operations center within the next six months, said Winston Wright, general manager for Alto's Houston operations. An expanded facility will allow Alto to accommodate more cars in its fleet and more drivers to serve Houston.
Alto is currently a tenant in a shared office building near the intersection of the 610 Loop and T.C. Jester Boulevard. The company's new operations center will have 4 acres of space to park cars and expand its facilities in the future, Wright said.
The company saw ridership grow about 500% in the Houston area during 2021, and it wants to grow even more during the remainder of 2022.
In addition to increasing its number of rides overall, Alto also wants to expand geographically to give more rides in outlying areas of the Houston area. Alto will drop a rider off in The Woodlands, for example, but it isn't picking up riders there at this point. Wright said an Alto hub in The Woodlands could be a real possibility in the future.
The company aims to set itself apart in the ride-hailing space by offering a more premium experience than big-name competitors such as Uber and Lyft. Alto owns its own fleet of vehicles, which are maintained and cleaned frequently.
The expanded operations center will also help enable Alto's electric vehicle vision. The company aims for its fleet to be comprised entirely of EVs by the end of 2023. Alto plans to build out EV charging infrastructure at its local operations center to enable the electric conversion.
"We're starting some of those conversations with key vendors and some of the top EV-makers now," Wright said.
The company also places a premium on rider safety, so it performs background checks on the drivers it hires and places security cameras in Alto vehicles.
Finding good drivers is a big focus for Alto. The company offers certain benefits to drivers, such as a 401(k) plan, to try to be competitive, Wright said. Another benefit for drivers is they don't have to put wear and tear on their own cars because they use Alto-branded vehicles.
"What drives us are our great drivers. That's what separates us from Uber and Lyft," said Wright.
Alto was founded in Dallas in 2018. Dallas and Houston are two of the company's largest markets, Wright said. The ride-hailing service raised a $45 million Series B round last year, bringing its total funding to about $60 million.
