Cecil Morton believes there’s room for one more in the ridesharing business.
One more, at least, at a dedicated local level. The president and CEO of SpeediShuttle has 21 years of experience in the Hawaii transportation industry and is investing some of his capital into making his new company, Holoholo, a workable Isle alternative to ridesharing giants Lyft and Uber.
Holoholo, which touts a no-surge-pricing policy as one of its main draws, is in the process of recruiting some 150 drivers and is targeting a soft app launch for riders on five islands — Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Kauai, and Lanai — in the coming weeks.
Morton told Pacific Business News that he felt like the time was right to launch it for a few reasons, not the least of which being that the technology barrier is not as daunting as it was in past years. He declined to give a specific figure for his up-front launch cost, but acknowledged it “is significant."
“It’s an investment, but it’s an investment that as an entrepreneur I’m just expecting one day I’ll be happy that I made it,” Morton said.
Holoholo has also invested in being an in-Hawaii, for-Hawaii brand. Rob Mora, Holoholo’s spokesman, knew Morton from his own time in the local transportation game, including with Lyft and Uber, and came on board in the early stages.
“I really shepherded the idea of making sure that, with the product being a local brand, things like female safety, Hawaiian values, Hawaiian culture, and sustainable initiatives like green vehicles, were really at the foundation,” Mora told PBN. “It was really just making sure that ... if you’re going to do this, there’s an opportunity to capture the local market and work with the community as much as possible.”
Morton said his app’s rates will “hover around the regular prices for the other two brands” and, in a key distinction, remain constant without surge pricing at peak locations and times. He believes that will benefit both the rider, who pays less, and the driver, who won’t have to chase or “cherry-pick” fares and will know how much they will make up front.
He noted that a member of his team has paid anywhere from $20 to $40 to go from the airport to their office on an existing rideshare app because of surge pricing. That won’t happen on Holoholo, he said.
For its emphasis on safety, thorough background checks will be issued quarterly for drivers, according to the company.
One of the app’s features will include a green vehicle option for riders to request a hybrid or electric vehicle in the area. Drivers, in turn, will be rewarded for driving sustainable vehicles by receiving a 5% greater share of a given ride’s fee.
Holoholo plans to track and support initiatives to expand EV charging infrastructure, Mora said, adding that the company would like to one day like to have its vehicles be 100% electric.
Requests can also be made for special assistance for people with disabilities, and for military riders to match up with a military driver in order to gain access to bases that would otherwise be off-limits.
There is a basic “holoholo” rate for a standard one to four person ride and a surcharge for a large- or luxury-vehicle class.
For now, Holoholo is focusing on getting the word out to both prospective drivers — it has launched a website just for recruiting them — and its future customer base.
“The fact that we’re rolling it out at seven airports and five islands is an indication of our effort to believe in what we’re doing, believe that there’s space in this arena for us,” Morton said. “We just want everyone who lives and breathes and loves our home here in Hawaii to support us. We’re doing the same in return.”
