Summon (company)
Summon is a transportation network company. It uses a mobile application which matches customers needing transportation with a taxi driver or a personal driver who is willing to provide a ride.[1] Summon is currently available in California, in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, and portions of the East Bay.
Industry | Transportation |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Aarjav Trivedi |
Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Area served | San Francisco, California, United States |
Services | Vehicles for hire, Ridesharing |
Website | www |
History
The idea for Summon was born after Aarjav Trivedi, its CEO and Founder, waited for over an hour for a bus and then a cab to take him to the airport.[2] He missed an international flight because both were late.[3] Trivedi created InstantCab (since rebranded as Summon) to give people a simple, fast, reliable, and inexpensive form of transportation.[3] Previously, Trivedi founded RideCell which focused on fleet automation to making on-demand transportation fleets easier to manage and access.
During Winter 2012, Summon was selected to participate in Y Combinator.[4] Summon received venture funding in 2012 from a group of venture capital and angel investors in Silicon Valley including Khosla Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Facebook Ex-COO Owen Van Natta and Delicious founder Joshua Schachter.[4] After rebranding from InstantCab to Summon, the company raised another round of funding from existing investors and new investors such as BMW Ventures.[5]
Summon’s offices are in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco.[6]
Drivers
Taxi drivers can sign up to drive for Summon. Taxi drivers can also get a credit card swiper from Summon for use with street hails or non-Summon customers.[7]
Surge pricing
Summon has indicated its opposition to a dynamic pricing model,[8] which has been a source of controversy for competitors Uber and Lyft. Instead of surge pricing, Summon uses flat fares on busy times and event days.[9] In addition, it implemented a FareBack program, which gives customers a portion of their ride cost back as credits to use on future Summon rides.[10]
Regulatory responses
On December 20, 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) initiated a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether ridesharing apps like Summon fall under its jurisdiction and, if so, how to regulate such apps.[11] The CPUC issued a decision on September 23, 2013.[12]
On March 8, 2013, Summon received a cease and desist letter from San Francisco International (SFO) Airport, claiming that its community drivers were unlawfully conducting business operations on Airport property without a permit.[13] Summon responded that its personal drivers were complying with the law because they were not picking up customers at the Airport or engaging in commercial activities on Airport property.[14] Other ridesharing apps in San Francisco have received similar cease and desist letters from SFO Airport.[15]
In September 2013, the CPUC unanimously voted to make the agreement permanent, creating a new category of service called Transportation Network Companies. The decision made California the first state to officially recognize and approve TNC services.[16][17] Summon was the first TNC to receive its operating permit from CPUC on February 24, 2014.[18]
See also
References
- "Community Drivers". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- "Our Story". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- "Our Story". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- Lawler, Ryan. "Y Combinator-Backed Summon Provides a Hybrid Alternative to Ride-Sharing and Taxi Apps". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/Summon-summon/
- "Summon HQ". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- http://blog.summon.com/post/81406708339/o-yes-zero-credit-card-processing-fees-and-same
- http://www.sfchronicle.com/technology/article/Summon-matches-Uber-Lyft-price-cuts-5408261.php
- http://blog.summon.com/post/71706636290/delivering-when-it-counts-the-most-flat-fares-on-new
- https://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/01/11/Summon-unveils-new-fareback-program-save-riders-30-trips-adds-3x-drivers/
- "RideSharing Proceeding". California Public Utilities Commission. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M077/K192/77192335.PDF
- "Letter From the San Francisco International Airport". Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- "Letter from the San Francisco International Airport". Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- Lawler, Ryan. "SFO Serves Cease-And-Desist Letters to Keep Ride-Sharing Companies From Operating at the Airport". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- Yeung, Ken (19 Sep 2013). "California Becomes First State To Regulate Ridesharing Services benefiting Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and Summon". TheNextWeb. Retrieved 19 Nov 2013.
- Healey, Jon (30 Jul 2013). "State to L.A.: Hands off Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and Summon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 Nov 2013.
- http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/03/04/summon-gets-first-california-rideshare-permit/