Milwaukee-based BidRide said they're different than a typical rideshare app, but still in the palm of your hand.
The app uses city-licensed taxi drivers and they said you'll never see surge pricing.
Here's how it works:
- You put in where you are and where you're going. You'll see what a typical cab ride costs.
- You can enter what you'd like to pay for the ride.
- The driver can accept, counter or deny your bid.
- If they counter, you can go back and forth until you agree on a price.
- You get where you want.
"I think that BidRide is going to increase our business," said driver Michael Richlin, a Milwaukee native who has been driving for nearly 45 years.
The idea came from President and Co-Founder Andrea Davis. Davis grew up in the taxi-cab industry. Her family owns Taxi MKE.
She and Richlin said rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft changed the business.
"Right now they're a big dent in the East Side business. The young millennials are using Uber and Lyft," Richelin said.
So, Davis thought up a way to capture the convenience of the apps, without taking business from taxi-cab drivers.
"We wanted all the convenience of a ridesharing company, but without the risk," she said. Davis believes BidRide is safer than other apps because all cab drivers are registered with the city.
It's a feature customer Michael Schmidt prefers. The professionalism and cab inspections have given him a sense of trust.
"I've actually used them to pick up my teenage son," he said. "When I wasn't involved."
Plus, there's the pricing. You decide that directly with the cab driver. They said there's no surge pricing- you pay whatever you agree on with the driver. If it's a busy time, said Richlin, riders may offer a higher-than-meter rate, but don't have to. Richelin said he'd happily accept a lower rate.
"[If] it's normally a $15 meter ride and I have nothing else to do, I'm going to take the $10 and go," he said.
It's a concept Richlin and Davis hope will put more people back in cabs.
