Driverseat gives cars a ride home

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This article was published 15/07/2017 (2980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The introduction of ride-booking services is changing the way we think about hailing a cab, while the prospects of driverless cars is changing the way we think about vehicular transportation in general.

So it should not be surprising that one of the fastest-growing franchises in the country is a professional designated driving service of sorts, called Driverseat.

Steve Nikkel has just opened the first Driverseat franchise for the Winnipeg market, which along with one in Saskatoon, are the newest and most westerly operations for the five-year-old franchisor out of Kitchener, Ont.

In addition to a designated driver service, Driverseat also does airport chauffeur and assisted transport services for the elderly — including trips to the doctor, grocery store or pharmacy — as well as any other service that may need to be done with, or for, the customer’s vehicle, such as car relocation or fleet servicing.

The major differentiator for Driverseat is that all of the transportation is being done using the customer’s own vehicle.

“There’s also a white-glove service element to the business,” said Nikkel, 29. “There is an extra level of service. We’ll help carry the groceries, we’ll check in at the pharmacy.”

Driverseat uses wireless mobile GPS locators, like the other ride-booking services, so that people can know when their ride will arrive, as well as receive a text to say how long they’ll be and when they arrive.

Also, like the other new ride-booking businesses, the customer can pay using the mobile app and receive a picture of the driver, so they’ll recognize the person who’s come to the restaurant to drive them — and their car — home.

The company was started by brothers Brian and Luke Bazely in the technology hotbed of Kitchener-Waterloo, where this year they won the innovation award from the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.

Unlike many other tech companies, the brothers self-funded the operation eschewing venture capital. Also unlike so many other tech companies, they chose to go the franchise route.

“Going with a franchise model was really important to us,” Brian Bazely said.

“Having local ownership in the market allows the owner to really connect with the community. It’s a community-based service.

“Getting impaired drivers off the road and driving elderly folks who might have lost their licence are community-focused activities.”

Driverseat hires the drivers — who they refer to as coachmen — and then they recruit their own extra driver, because the service operates in teams of two.

“It’s great for couples looking to make extra money, or roommates or friends,” Nikkel said.

“We also have retired people driving. It can give them a sense of involvement in the community, making the community safer.”

Because there are two drivers required — one to get the coachman to the customer’s car and the other to transport the coachman to the customer — there are some extra labour costs.

But Bazely said since it’s the customer’s vehicle that provides the service there is very little overhead that the franchisee needs to worry about.

Nikkel’s Winnipeg operation only provides services using customer’s vehicles, but about half of Driverseat’s 24 current franchises also provide shuttle services with their own fleet. Bazely said it requires various municipal approvals and appropriate insurance coverage. Over time, and depending on demand, that is something that could be added to the Winnipeg service offering.

Currently Nikkel has four teams on the road and will keep adding as the demand grows. Established franchises — all but two of the 24 franchises are in Ontario — have between 30 and 45 coachmen.

Nikkel did a soft launch through May and June and now has an introductory offer of $5 for a designated-driver ride anywhere in Winnipeg until July 22. And the first 100 people to pre-book an airport chauffeur service ride in the next week will pay only $10.

Across the network Bazely said the average chauffeur service usually costs about $28 per hour and the average cost of a designated driver trip is about $32.

“No one has ever complained that we charge too much” Nikkel said.

Each Driverseat territory franchise — which go for less than $35,000 — cover a population base of 100,000 people.

In Winnipeg Driverseat can be reached at 204-813-8001 or by email at winnipeg.sw@driverseatinc.com.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca