Name: Dallas rideshare company to roll into Houston
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Dallas rideshare company to roll into Houston

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAlto, a new rideshare company based in Dallas, will roll into view in Houston as it looks to expand its reach and compete with Uber and Lyft.The app-based service, which arrives in Houston Thursday, looks to distinguish itself in the market by offering what it calls a consistent experience by managing its own fleet of 200 luxury Buick sports utility vehicles and hiring employees to drive them rather than relying on independent contractors, as competittors such as Uber and Lyft do.On HoustonChronicle.com:The company, founded in 2018, will also launch in Los Angeles in the coming weeks and aims to expand nationally, said co-founder and Chief Executive Will Coleman.“We believe that showcasing our model there in California, and particularly in Los Angeles, helps contribute to that important debate around employment, which we believe we’re on the winning side of,” Coleman said.Alto’s expansion comes as a debate rages in California over how companies such as Uber and Lyft should treat its drivers. There, a new state employment law requires the gig economy companies to classify drivers as employees, but voters could exempt the companies via a ballot measure in November.Alto also is expanding as the coronovirus pandemic batters the ride-hailing industry. Uber, the market leader, reported a 75 percent decline in ridership during the quarter ended June 30, as people grew wary of leaving the house and entering enclosed spaces.Alto’s business has shrunk, too. Business is still down about 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels, Coleman said. “There’s some people in Dallas that are going to continue to not get into cars,” he said, “so our total customer base is smaller.”That makes expanding into new territories more important to the company’s growth, Coleman said. Houston seemed like a natural next step, he said, given its proximity and size — it’s the nation’s fourth largest city. It also appealed because the company caters to the business community, which in Houston is large and international.Business travel from the airport was a big sales driver before the pandemic, he said, and is beginning to pick back up. “People are looking for safe ways to move again,” Coleman said.But Ali Mogharabi, senior equity analyst for the financial services firm Morningstar, said Alto faces an uphill battle even in the best of times — which they are not. Few people are traveling or heading to urban offices, two large components of the rideshare market.“The ride-hailing market is not in good shape,” he said.Mogharabi said he doesn’t expect ridership for Uber, which claims about 70 percent of the rideshare market, to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023. Lyft accounts for about 30 percent of the market, he said.Newcomers will have a tough time breaking into a market so dominated by the two-ride hailing companies, Mogharabi said. But Alto said it believed putting drivers on the payroll gives them an advantage.Alto can train them in safety protocols and monitor their driving, he said, and that’s even more important during the pandemic, which placed more emphasis on health and safety.Inside Alto’s vehicles, bucket seats offer leg room, a plexiglass barrier separates passengers from the driver and the interior is disinfected between trips with a sanitizing mist. A high efficiency particulate air filter cleans the air, uniformed drivers wear masks and customers can use the app to inform drivers about whether or not they’d prefer a conversation-free ride.Alto monitors driving behaviors using onboard cameras and telematic devices that track the car’s movements. To encourage a sense of consistency from trip to trip, Coleman said the company even uses a trademarked scent that has a subtle, balmy aroma.“Those are things that only we can do because we have that type of control,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re at the whim of whatever driver you might get.”In exchange, drivers get a more reliable schedule than those working as independent contractors for other companies. Alto offers company-sponsored health insurance and paid time off.One of its new Houston drivers, Rachel Barrett, said she chose Alto because “this seemed more stable.” She’d been working for Apple but grew tired of working from home, she said, and started looking at jobs in the rideshare industry.Alto charges more per trip than Uber, the market leader. One 10-mile trip across Houston (or 22 minutes) costs $38.79, including a service charge of $5.92. The same trip would cost $17.71 via Uber’s cheapest option, or $30.57 under its larger-cabin UberXL option.“We like to think of it as an accessible luxury,” Coleman said. “I like to think of it as Starbucks.”On HoustonChronicle.com:amanda.drane@chron.com

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateAlto, a new rideshare company based in Dallas, will roll into view in Houston as it looks to expand its reach and compete with Uber and Lyft.The app-based service, which arrives in Houston Thursday, looks to distinguish itself in the market by offering what it calls a consistent experience by managing its own fleet of 200 luxury Buick sports utility vehicles and hiring employees to drive them rather than relying on independent contractors, as competittors such as Uber and Lyft do.On HoustonChronicle.com:The company, founded in...

Dallas rideshare company to roll into Houston

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