Ford’s decision to bin Chariot ride-share service came after ‘significant consideration’

Ford has given no explanation for the decision to abandon its ride-sharing shuttle service Chariot, but said it came after “significant consideration”. The service will stop operating on UK shuttle commuter routes tomorrow – after just a few months - and on US routes after 1 February. All Chariot services will cease completely by the end of March. A statement from the company gave little clue as to why: “In today’s mobility landscape, the wants and needs of customers and cities are changing rapidly. We a
January 24, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

278 Ford has given no explanation for the decision to abandon its ride-sharing %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external shuttle false http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/utc/news/chariot-shuttle-service-to-help-london-companies-cut-commutes/ false false%> service Chariot, but said it came after “significant consideration”.

The service will stop operating on UK shuttle commuter routes tomorrow – after just a few months - and on US routes after 1 February.

All Chariot services will cease completely by the end of March.

A statement from the company gave little clue as to why: “In today’s mobility landscape, the wants and needs of customers and cities are changing rapidly. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause Chariot’s riders and our enterprise customers.”

Parent group Ford has been under pressure worldwide this year, posting significant losses outside of its heartland in North America.

The motor manufacturer recently announced thousands of job losses in Europe and said that it is worried about the effects of a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ if and when the UK leaves the 1816 European Union.

Chariot says it is committed to ensuring its customers are aware of the decision and have time to make alternative transportation arrangements, and promises to refund all remaining commuter credit balances.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • British Safety Council launches app for measuring air pollution in London
    March 11, 2019
    The British Safety Council (BSC) and Kings College London have launched an app for outdoor workers to measure exposure to air pollution – an increasing preoccupation for the ITS industry. The Canairy app could help improve workzone safety by providing employees, and their bosses, with information to help them reduce exposure to air pollution. The app is being launched as part of the BSC’s ‘Time to Breathe’ campaign, which seeks to encourage companies, policymakers and regulators to take the risks of
    Read More
  • Panasonic to launch autonomous cart ride-share in 2021
    November 6, 2019
    Panasonic is to launch a ride-sharing service of autonomous electric carts in Japan in 2021 for small towns and other ‘confined’ areas. A report by The Mainichi says the company is now using four carts to transport more than 14,000 employees around its headquarters in Osaka Prefecture ahead of the commercial launch. The carts operate at 20 km/h per hour on a 2.4km loop around the premises, which is around 468,000 m2 in size. An spokesperson is quoted as saying during a press conference: "We are not tryin
    Read More
  • McCain to use ATC cabinets to improve traffic signal infrastructure in San Francisco
    December 13, 2018
    McCain is to upgrade San Francisco’s traffic signal infrastructure through the introduction of 400 M advanced transportation controller (ATC) cabinets over the next three years. Reza Roozitalab, McCain’s vice president of hardware engineering, says: “Our M ATC cabinet features two front side-by-side doors, ideal for areas with narrow sidewalks so maintenance teams can work inside without completely blocking the walkway.” Also, the M ATC cabinets feature a ‘lamp out monitoring algorithm’ which identifies
    Read More
  • Bolt launches dockless e-scooters in Madrid
    April 2, 2019
    Bolt, the ride-share company which was formerly called Taxify, has launched electric kick scooters in central Madrid. The firm piloted the vehicles in Paris last year – making it the first to combine scooter sharing and ride-hailing together in one mobile app, Bolt claims. “Beating the traffic is a big issue in cities like Madrid and a lot of trips are much more efficiently covered with an electric scooter rather than a car with a driver,” says Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder of Bolt. He says the dep
    Read More

Highlighted Content