Ford’s new quasi-public transport system, Chariot has launched in London with a fleet of minibuses designed to serve flush commuters.
Chariot has had some success in the US, with its routes already operating in San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Columbus and New York, which convinced Ford to introduce its service worldwide, with London being its first European market.
14 specially-branded Transit buses, capable of seating 15 passengers at a time, will run four services across South London. South London, famously, is far less well served by the city’s underground rail network than the folks on the other side of the river. Often, users are crammed into mainline trains to get around, or have to travel some distance before they can join the rail network at all.
Ford believes that it can overcome the annoyance of having to walk or cycle to your nearest station with Chariot. Users can pre-book a seat on a bus, which come with WiFi, air conditioning and, best of all, the ability to use London’s bus lanes. The company is hoping that this mixture of speed, efficiency and convenience will be enough to woo flush commuters looking to speed up their ride.
In what can only be a sharp elbow in the ribs of other on-demand services that run in the city, Ford also boasts that its drivers are professionals. In fact, Chariot pilots are full employees of the service, and have passed a background check, so riders can rest a little easier on their trip.
Read more here
Join us in Bangkok from the 28th of February to the 1st of March for the 22nd Property Portal Watch Conference. The theme for this year is The Future of Online Real Estate Marketing – Getting Closer to the Transaction.
