Dollaride has announced a $500,000 investment from non-profit investor Elemental Excelerator to test its ridesharing app service in underserved communities.

As an alternative to Uber and Lyft, the business aims to create clean transportation access in various New York boroughs, which could benefit more than 600,000 people in the city.

“This is a catalytic investment for us, and this program will provide clean transportation through electrified commuter vans in New York City's outer boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. We will also implement public charging stations for local community members and new EV users,” Su Sanni, CEO and co-founder of Dollaride, told Black Dollar Magazine.

The news comes less than six months after Dollaride was previously awarded $10 million to build its all-electric dollar van network from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last December.

Looking ahead, the $500,000 will go toward securing three to six electric vans and chargers, and testing the service with drivers and passengers.

“Elemental has been leaning into early project deployments and working to catalyze more investment in climate technology for more than a decade,” Elemental founder and CEO Dawn Lippert said in a statement. “Our deeper investment in Dollaride is just the start of our deeper investments into scale-up projects — we have a dozen more investments in climate technology to help ensure that underserved communities experience the benefits of technology first, not last.”

If successful, the company could expand its fleets into 200 markets across the U.S. and have access to at least $27 million in future financing, a statement reads. Up to 105 EV vans are within reach if Dollaride validates the business model, Sanni said.

“We're super excited and gracious about getting this investment from Elemental. They've been a big supporter of Dollaride since 2020, and we’re even more excited to deepen our work with them through this investment and more collaborative work,” Sanni said.

Sanni added that driver satisfaction will be a key metric for the company as it tests the business model. HEVO electric charging devices will provide Level 2 and DC fast-charging access for drivers, which is a big part of the data they're hoping to collect.

A clean alternative for big city transportation

Finding it difficult to travel from suburban areas of New York into the city, the expense of Uber and Lyft was out of reach for the entrepreneur, like most working professionals.

So, Sanni founded the company in 2018.

“I knew firsthand how challenging it can be for people to get to work, get to school, or get access to health care when they live too far away from public transit or can't rely on public transit in their neighbourhoods. So, I essentially started Dollaride to solve that problem because I experienced it growing up in New York,” Sanni said.

“We've realized that we can have a much bigger impact by not only providing transportation and transit deserts but doing it in a sustainable way that brings economic savings and impact to the drivers who serve our community.”

The lower cost of travel for people in low-income areas is something he hopes provides the company with a leg up over the competition. Sanni said that at least 70 per cent of his ridership are working-class people.

“We'll likely run this trial throughout the summer and early fall," Sanni said. "But before the end of the year, for Q4, we'll have enough data from the drivers using the vehicles and from passengers as well. Then, we'll probably do a tranche of 35 vehicles by the end of the year and then another two tranches of 34 and 35. vehicles in 2024 (in New York).”