附近上门

, the Ford-owned transportation startup that operates commuter shuttle services in nine North American cities and internationally in London, is shutting down.

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Chariot on its company blog that it will end its U.K. service on Friday, January 25th, and will end service in the U.S. on Friday, February 1. All operations, including servicing its enterprise customers, will end in March.

Employees at the company were told today that their positions are terminated, according to an employee at the company who didn鈥檛 want to be named. The company is providing at least a portion of its employees with a severance package equal to 60 days worth of salary.

Founded in 2014, Chariot raised from and prior to 聽for $65 million. A couple months before the acquisition was formally announced Ford had featured by Chariot co-founder (and, at the time, CEO)聽 on its smart cities-focused 鈥淐ity Of Tomorrow Blog.鈥�

In the post, Vahabzadeh explained why he started the company. 鈥淚n 2014, I founded Chariot to solve my own transit challenges and those of other commuters鈥娾�斺�妏eople unable to board overpacked buses, or who can鈥檛 afford a $20 ride-share downtown at 8 a.m., or who live in a far-flung neighborhood like Outer Richmond,鈥� the native New Yorker wrote.

Vahabzadeh left Ford in February 2018, though he remained chair of Chariot’s board, according to at the time. Dan Grossman, then Ford’s recently-hired global VP of “microtransit,” took the reins at Chariot and has led the internal startup since聽Vahabzadeh’s departure.

Erin First, a hired spokesperson for the company, said by phone that continuing Chariot鈥檚 service, as it stands, 鈥渨as not sustainable for the company going forward.鈥� Some employees may be given the opportunity to work for another division in Ford, First said.

Urban mobility is a rapidly-changing market, and with change comes challenges. As more folks move away from car ownership, automakers and transportation service companies alike are vying for the next big business model. Privatized, shuttle-based transportation, a la Chariot, was one experiment in the new way to get around. Scooters, not shuttles, are the new new thing today, and Ford has already jumped into that market by acquiring Spin, a scooter service company. We鈥檒l see how that “mobility smorgasbord” experiment plays itself out.

鲍辫诲补迟别诲:听This post was updated with further information about co-founder Ali聽Vahabzadeh’s departure from Chariot.

滨濒濒耻蝉迟谤补迟颈辞苍:听