South Florida could attract another venture to its rising startup scene.
Zoom Ride, co-founded by Basel AlYasin and Bilal Hashwi, debuted in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach last month and the young company will soon open a local office to support its expansion.
"We hired more than 600 drivers in two weeks, and the number is growing," AlYasin said.
The co-founders said there is a high probability the business will relocate its headquarters to either Miami or Orlando next year. Zoom Ride is currently based in Michigan.
This move would bring increased jobs to the region, including full-time employees, managerial staff members and drivers, they said.
In addition to its standard ride-sharing option, Zoom Ride also offers users a more elite service through its own fleet of electrical cars. AlYasin also said travelers can also request city tours from the app.
Zoom Ride also aims to create a safer experience for both drivers and passengers in response to the dangers that come with ride-sharing, Hashwi said.
Features include panic buttons inside cars, ultraviolet vehicle sanitizing lights and customer call centers. Passengers can also request female drivers, filter drivers by preferred language and book a driver for multiple stops.
Though rates for fares are determined by demand, drivers earn a percentage of the ride. They will also have access to benefits such as health insurance, for example.
Before expanding operations to Florida, the app went live in the Detroit metropolitan area in September 2020 before launching statewide. AlYasin said the app's success in Detroit exceeded their expectations, as they were able to onboard about 800 drivers.
“This is why we are going to another state like Florida,” AlYasin said. “It is a bit bigger and there is more potential there.”
Part of the reason to expand to the region, Hashwi said, is also the potential for business opportunities as more businesses from California and New York relocate to the Sunshine State.
But there are hopes for more growth beyond Florida.
“Right now, we are in the process of fundraising capital and based on that, we will know how many more cities we will open in,” AlYasin said.
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