New Ride-Sharing Program In Pittsburgh Promises Special Advantages

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Move over Uber, Lyft, and those Z-Trip cabs.

There's a new kind of taxi in town -- CabbyGo.com.

"We're a little bit different than the other transportation companies," says founder and CEO Joshua Freedman.

Freedman, a Pitt graduate, announced the new service Wednesday in Shadyside.

"CabbyGo is launching in Pittsburgh, and we're happy to be here. If you're a rider, make a bid request and you get more choices," he said.

The operative word is choice.

"When you make a ride request, you're not going to have a driver assigned to you. You're actually going to get bids on that ride so you can choose the closest, or the most economical, or the highest rated," Freedman said.

After you download the app and click for a ride, CabbyGo drivers bid against each other for the chance to drive you at the lowest price.

That bidding takes 45 seconds, and customers can choose the lowest price, the closest driver, the type of vehicle, or the highest-rated driver.

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For passengers, CabbyGo says it offers not only the ability to choose, but no surge pricing, the ability to track drivers, and the option to pay in cash or credit.

For drivers, they can keep 90 percent of their fares, choose their own pricing for trips, accept tips, and limit their service to their own community.

Freedman says 150 drivers have already signed up locally, and he wants to take CabbyGo national from Pittsburgh.

"If they're investors or venture capital out there, we'd be happy to talk to them. I think California is our next state," he said.

And CabbyGo.com is thinking big.

"Our ultimate goal is to be the Airbnb of autonomous vehicles. So as a private owner, if you own an autonomous vehicle, you'll be able to share that with our system," says Freedman. "We'll monetize that for you while you're sleeping."