Story
Greetings, and thank you for visiting our site. I'm Jeff, the original founder, and with me are my incredible co-founders Andrew and Alex, and this is Rideshare Cooperative's story:
I was driving for Big Rideshare - that's Uber and Lyft - for a number of years to augment my income. Many of us did. We'd pick others up on our way to work, and drive others on our way home after work. Sometimes we'd drive around the city a bit where ride requests were constant and the earnings worth our extra time. Then suddenly Big Rideshare started cutting back on our earnings, and I figured that driving with them was no longer worth my time.
I hated them, especially when together with the whole world I watched how they justified throwing enthusiastic full-time drivers into poverty and morbidity by stealing drivers' earnings. I was raised to respect that stealing is illegal, and no matter how Big Rideshare presents it, its still stealing! I am a quiet social activist, and their behavior simply enraged me! Did you ever feel as enraged? So many of us did.
It's all Harry's fault! It was Thursday early afternoon, and I was out driving somwhere when his call came in. "Jeff, did you see what's been going on? Drivers around the world are demonstrating at Big Rideshare offices, demanding their fares!" And then it came, "I'm in! Let's do it!" He was referring to what has by now become Rideshare Cooperative. I've been aching to break Big Rideshare, and restore drivers' respectable living, but I had much on my plate, and I wasn't gonna go it alone. "I'll see you in an hour at my place!", I responded, and so it began.
Months went by, and so did Harry, but once I start something I'm committed, especially something important that I know nobody else will accomplish. I neeeded a partner, someone with corporate financial expertise, who would work with me to make this happen. I prayed every day, sometimes twice and thrice, in whispers between sandwich bites, and between coffee sips, "God, I need a partner who is well-versed in corporate finance. Please hook us up! People are suffering and need your help!"
About two weeks into my prayers I received an email. Another Northern Californian, not far from my own home, was also empathetic towards drivers and their plight, perhaps even more deeply than I was. He just wanted to "punch them in the face" (not the people, the companies), if they but had one. He introduced himself as a finance specialist, and told his story. He'd been stressing over Big Rideshare's appalling behaviors towards their drivers, and moped around for weeks about it, until his little boy said, "Why don't you DO something about it, instead of just mopiing around?"
Children's wisdom so innocently simple and clear, he decided to search the web for anyone who is doing anything about it, found Rideshare Cooperative, and sent me a note through the Contact Us link in the footer. We decided to join together, and I never cease reminding him how God himself banded us together. Andrew truly was God-sent , though I don't know if Andrew even believes in God.
I met Alex back around the end of 2010. While consulting for Mass Mutual Life Insirance Company in Springfield Massachusetts, a local mutual friend suggested that we meet, so we drove to Monsey New York to join Alex for lunch at The Purple Pear restaurant. We immediately connected, and until today are very close friends. Alex is too humble to speak of his accomplishments, but I heard plenty from the friend who introduced us. A full-stack software engineer, I've gained a limited reputation for tackling projects that others could not or did not want to, yet I soon realized that I was way out of Alex's league. Over the yearts I would consult with him on complicated technical challenges that nobody could figure out, and he was always able to resolve them.
Fast-forward and add a little arm-twisting, and he's now our third co-founder, and we all know that when he finally delivers we're gonna have the best systems and apps in the industry!
Meanwhile, Big Rideshare have increased their brazen attitudes, and are now ripping off passengers as well, through gouging prices and periodic unexpected price-surges. Here at Rideshare Cooperative we continue to progress, and are looking forward to serving you soon.
