Yahoo Finance ‘Uber for dogs’ startup aims to make pet travel easier
A ride-hailing startup is aiming to streamline traveling with your pet.
SpotOn is like an Uber (UBER) for animals. Users can request a ride using the app and a vehicle will arrive, equipped with a seat cover and harness to buckle your four-legged friend into the backseat. The company is also testing unaccompanied rides for dogs as well.
“We’re currently piloting that with our vet partners and we’ll be rolling out that feature to the general public in probably about a month or so, when we partner up with a major pet retailer here in New York City,” SpotOn CEO & Founder Aparna Srinivasan told Yahoo Finance.
Srinivasan explained that got the idea for her company after having trouble getting a ride when traveling with her dog, Krishna.
“There’s definitely a need, because obviously I travel with Krishna a lot -- going to the vet, going on a plane,” she told YFi PM in an interview.
“And it's just much easier when you know that have that transportation to where you want to go, taken care of,” Srinivasan added.
Launched last September, SpotOn provides over 5,000 rides a month. The startup also requires all of its drivers to have a license from the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and screens them by running their names through an animal cruelty database.
Ori Karev, a SpotOn shareholder, was once the U.S. CEO of ride-sharing app Gett. During that time, he learned that one of the biggest complaints for users was that people couldn’t take their dogs or cats with them.
“Drivers were simply not equipped for that,” he told told Yahoo Finance. “They were afraid pets may not like the car, or they may not like the pets, and they missed the whole boat.”
SpotOn is currently only available in New York City, but is aiming to expand in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago.
McKenzie Stratigopoulos is a producer at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @mckenziestrat
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