This Is Your Sign To Check Out HERide
Those arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are used to seeing signs for baggage claim, MARTA, and ridesharing companies like Lyft and Uber. But now, they are greeted by a homegrown and bootstrapped transportation option, HERide.
While the female friendly ride share service has been operating at the airport since September, the team only recently landed official signage ensuring that riders know exactly where HERide pickup location is. Co-founder DeVynne Starks said the signage was an important and clarifying step for those who have just touched down at the airport and are looking for their ride.
Landing a sign at the world’s busiest airport is also an important marketing tool, since 275,000 passengers arrive at the ATL Airport every day.
Building A Rideshare Marketplace For Women
Building any sort of marketplace business, like HERide, is difficult. It isn’t enough just to grow the number of paying and daily customers. You also have to build up a strong pool of drivers able to meet demand across the city. And building in the ridesharing space is another level of difficulty, since there are major players like Lyft, Uber, and Gett.
But Founder Jillian Anderson saw something missing in the ridesharing landscape back when she was a Lyft driver part-time while pursuing her professional basketball career in Atlanta.
“A lot of women told me that they'd rather ride with women. They were canceling rides until they recognized a woman's name or recognized a woman’s picture. I realized this was a need, and Uber and Lyft weren’t going to do it,” Anderson told Hypepotamus.
The app, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, focuses on the safety of female drivers and riders. Users can schedule a ride ahead of time and ensure they are picked up by a vetted driver. Rides start at $4.50 plus the mileage covered.
Anderson officially started the company in 2019. She brought on Starks, a marketing and PR pro, in 2022. The team told Hypepotamus that HERide has brought on 250 vetted drivers onto the platform to date. The number of riders has increased dramatically, with one viral tweet bringing on 7,000 people in one day.
Rides to and from the airport are by far one of the most requested routes for HERide, said Anderson. But the platform has also been used by parents looking for a safe ride option for their daughters to school or people looking for a safer ride option to popular Atlanta destinations like the Fox Theater and downtown hotels.
Scaling HERide
The team is ultimately working to raise $1.5 million, but they are specifically looking to raise $150,000 to scale HERide across Atlanta. But scaling is all about sticking to their original mission: Giving women a safer rideshare alternative.
“We’re not here to try to take over the market. We truly are here to cater to a very subset group of individuals,” Starks added.
