The Drivers Cooperative: Giving drivers and paratransit riders a better ridehailing service
About The Drivers Cooperative
The Drivers Cooperative is a driver-owned ride-hailing cooperative that provides paratransit, non-emergency medical transportation, and on-demand rideshare in New York City.
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Google Maps Platform enables the Drivers Cooperative to service New York City paratransit riders more efficiently and sustainably, and earns drivers more money.
Google Maps Platform results
- Creates efficient routes using real-time traffic data so drivers consistently earn a $30/hr living wage
- Cuts down on carbon emissions by using straightforward, optimized routes
- Helps ensure on-time pickups and dropoffs for paratransit users
Shortens transit time from three hours to 30 minutes
Five years ago, Erik Forman worked with ridehailing drivers in New York City as a labor organizer and educator. The drivers often spoke to him about the limits on their income and their limited rights on the job. What they wanted was a ridehailing platform that they owned and a job offering a fair wage.
"I thought that was a beautiful vision and as a union staffer, I decided to do what union staffers are supposed to do: help make workers' dreams come true," says Forman. So he co-founded The Drivers Cooperative in 2020.
Based in New York City, the cooperative focuses on paratransit and non-emergency medical transportation. Since its launch, The Drivers Cooperative has experienced rapid growth. Forman attributes the company's success to giving drivers a genuine living wage, and delivering a world-class service with Google Maps Platform.
"We chose Google because it's the market leader. The traffic data is the most extensive and the various solutions it provides are the most developed."
—Erik Forman, Co-founder, The Drivers CooperativeTailoring services to get around the traffic demands of New York City
The Drivers Cooperative shopped around for various map and routing providers but ultimately chose Google Maps Platform. "We chose Google because it's the market leader. The traffic data is the most extensive and the various solutions it provides are the most developed,” says Forman. The sustainability values of Google Maps Platform also align with those of The Drivers Cooperative. "A part of the reason we chose Google Maps Platform is because of sustainability, which is really important to us," Forman added.
Once The Drivers Cooperative chose Google Maps Platform, it had to create an app from scratch. Ridehailing apps can look deceptively simple but that's a sign of good design and engineering. On the backend, there are hundreds of thousands of coding lines that create a seamless experience for drivers and riders alike. And because The Drivers Cooperative serves a unique population of riders, the technology demands are even higher.
Many paratransit riders use The Drivers Cooperative to book pre-scheduled rides to their medical appointments or workplaces. The challenge becomes how to service thousands of people over the course of a day when they need to arrive on time for their appointments or jobs. However, New York City traffic is unpredictable and makes it harder to build routes that will get drivers to their pickups on time, drop off passengers on schedule, and also use drivers' time effectively so they make more money.
"We creatively repurposed Cloud Fleet Routing API to build high-quality routes for paratransit pickups and drop-offs in New York City, which has meant drivers are able to make more per hour because they're able to work more efficiently."
—Erik Forman, Co-founder, The Drivers CooperativeThat's exactly the challenge The Drivers Cooperative overcame using Cloud Fleet Routing API, which was originally designed for delivery companies. The solution uses a powerful algorithm combined with extremely accurate traffic data to optimally allocate riders to drivers. "We creatively repurposed Cloud Fleet Routing API to build high-quality routes for paratransit pickups and drop-offs in New York City, which has meant drivers are able to make more per hour because they're able to work more efficiently," Forman shares.
Google partner Woolpert Digital Innovations advised The Drivers Cooperative on how exactly to implement Google's APIs in its custom-built solution. "The Drivers Cooperative came to us with some really unique challenges," says Jeremy Quam, Senior Account Executive, Woolpert Digital Innovations. "Guiding The Drivers Cooperative team through these interesting facets of paratransit was exciting for us."
Valerie Joseph is a rider with The Drivers Cooperative, where she also leads driver education and rider outreach. Before using The Drivers Cooperative, she had to allot three hours to get somewhere that should only take 30 minutes. Now she's able to only take 30 minutes. "Going from point A to point B in 30 minutes is a blessing, believe me," she says.
Cloud Fleet Routing API is also beneficial for the environment because more efficient routes mean less carbon emissions and that in turn is better for riders because they're getting picked up and dropped off reliably.
Connecting the government and consumers more effectively
Using Google Maps Platform Mobility Services, The Drivers Cooperative built an on-demand service for paratransit riders. What's more complicated is that they work with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to offer this service for paratransit riders. Instead of using an app, many paratransit passengers use the MTA's call center, which then sends trips to providers like The Drivers Cooperative.
The call center is just another point of entry because paratransit riders may also use the app. On the drivers' end, Google Maps Platform Mobility Services seamlessly integrated with Cloud Fleet Routing API whether the request comes in from the app, the MTA, or The Drivers Cooperative's website.
More specifically, Cloud Fleet Routing takes all of the rides to be completed and all of the drivers, and matches them to create the most efficient routes. Mobility Services then enables the real-time execution, providing visibility on where drivers are and sharing that with users or as an input to Cloud Fleet Routing. It also enables drivers to ensure they capture an accurate location for pickups and dropoffs.
This integration of Google Maps Platform's algorithms means The Drivers Cooperative can invest more time and usability on the front end for riders with disabilities. And Google Maps Platform's powerful APIs have given The Drivers Cooperative parity with much larger ridehailing competitors.
"Google Maps Platform has allowed us, an underdog startup, to build a world-class service for people who need mobility the most."
—Erik Forman, Co-founder, The Drivers Cooperative"Google Maps Platform offers companies like us, which are small, the opportunity to use the same powerful APIs and the same robust backend that many of the bigger players do. That's a beautiful thing," he adds.
Since its launch, The Drivers Cooperative has generated more than $11 million in revenue, paid out over $9 million to drivers, and completed over 300,00 trips. It’s made life better for drivers who are now able to make a living wage in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. And it's made life easier for riders who can spend more time doing what they love instead of commuting.
Expanding to new markets
The Drivers Cooperative plans to keep optimizing its service for people with disabilities across New York City and beyond. "We want to change the reputation of these paratransit services. We can creatively use technology in a cooperative business model to create a high-quality service for people who need mobility the most," says Forman.
The company has fielded calls from governments all over the world to support mobility services, so expanding paratransit options in other states and countries is in the pipeline as well.
Lastly, The Drivers Cooperative is expanding by making its services available to all New Yorkers in the fall, not just those requiring paratransit services. But none of this would be possible without Google Maps Platform. "Google Maps Platform has allowed us, an underdog startup, to build a world-class service for people who need mobility the most," he says.
Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact us
About The Drivers Cooperative
The Drivers Cooperative is a driver-owned ride-hailing cooperative that provides paratransit, non-emergency medical transportation, and on-demand rideshare in New York City.
About Woolpert Digital Innovations
Woolpert Digital Innovations provides premier location-based technologies and cloud solutions for clients around the world.