Harrison Amit is leading a small startup with a big idea.
“The vision for the company is helping over 10 million drivers,” said the 28-year-old CEO of Hovr (pronounced Hover).
The Toronto-based ride-hailing company launches today, and will service the city and surrounding suburbs.
Amit’s goal is to make the company a national brand within a year and go way beyond that.
The question is whether this young entrepreneur compete with the global giant Uber, which has a 15-year head start and had 150 million active monthly users in Q4 2023 (including Uber Eats customers), or Lyft, which was founded 12 years ago and had 22 million active monthly riders in Q4.
Hovr’s yet to provide a single ride, but Amit believes his company’s approach could shake up the ride-hailing industry because of how it will pay drivers.
“Our tagline at Hovr is 100 per cent fare is 100 per cent fair. And what that means is that the drivers take home 100 per cent of the fare from every ride that they receive.”
It’s a play on words, but also a strategic play, setting Hovr apart from the giants it’s up against.
What 100 per cent of the fare means
Amit says Hovr will appeal to drivers because instead of taking a percentage of the total fare on every trip to turn a profit like Uber and Lyft do, Hovr will charge a $20 monthly membership fee to work for the service.
That price is an introductory rate that Amit says will rise as the business grows, but a fixed cost means drivers don’t pay more for working more.
That’s how Hovr lets drivers keep “100 per cent of the fare.”
Hovr says it will make the costs of each ride transparent, giving riders a bill that shows the fare or driver’s pay (the base rate, kilometres and time), and includes what the passenger is being charged for insurance, city fees, a transaction fee plus a $1 “platform fee” from the company.
Amit says the 100 per cent fair slogan has helped sign up 5,000 drivers and 25,000 potential customers, through word of mouth, social media and a few billboards in downtown Toronto.
Milton Brady, a former cabbie who’s been with Uber for four years, said he couldn’t wait to sign up for Hovr.
“Hovr is a knight in shining armour,” he said.
Brady says the industry needs more competition to make things better for drivers, and that Hovr’s pay model would give drivers a “chance to actually build some kind of economical stability in their lives.”
Ride-hailing ripe for disruption?
In Amit’s view, the ride-hailing business is due for a shake-up, like the taxi business was upset by Uber when it arrived.
“We’re entering a market that is ripe for disruption,” he said, “It’s riddled with dissatisfaction, on both sides from the riders and the drivers.”
Kam Phung, an assistant professor with the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, says the ride-hailing industry is in need of change. (submitted by Kam Phung)
“As an industry, ride hailing is in need of change,” said Kam Phung, an assistant professor with the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
“We know that it is riddled with problems and challenges, specifically on the workers’ rights fronts.”
On Valentine’s Day this year, a driver protest and strike was staged in several cities around the world as some gig workers logged off their apps, refusing work to bring attention to their pay and working conditions.
In Toronto, a report from Ridefair Toronto and the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario (RDAO) estimated many drivers were making less than minimum wage after expenses.
Toronto ride-hailing and food delivery drivers strike for better pay, working conditions
Some local drivers with companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are striking Wednesday to call for higher wages. In a statement, Uber said the “vast majority of drivers are satisfied,” but drivers told CBC Toronto many of them are being paid less than $10 an hour.
What Uber and Lyft say about the business and fair pay
Both Uber and Lyft see the ride-hailing industry as thriving and report positive trends in their quarterly reports.
Both have also said they feel competition is good for consumers and drivers.
Uber Canada told CBC News in a statement “the vast majority of drivers are satisfied,” and in the Toronto area, for example, “are making $33.35 during engaged time per hour before tips.”
The company also said it believes “drivers should earn a guaranteed minimum wage,” and it will comply with new laws in Ontario and BC that enforce such a standard.
In an interview with CBC News, Lyft CEO David Risher said roughly speaking, out of every dollar that you as a rider pay, Lyft earns about nine cents.
He said the remaining 91 cents is split between insurance and other fees, but most of it goes to the driver.
“It’s in our best interest that drivers actually get paid more, because it means more people are on the platform,” he said.
Lyft CEO David Risher says that out of every dollar a rider pays, Lyft earns about nine cents. (David Hill/CBC)
A global brand?
Amit says Hovr is “positioning itself for the global stage,” but interest from drivers will be the key to the company’s growth.
He hopes drivers who are excited about Hovr and working for Lyft or Uber will convince their passengers to switch over, as well.
“I don’t believe there’s any level of brand loyalty, it’s more of a forced relationship with these companies, due to a lack of options.”
Phung believes Hovr could grow quickly because there’s a demand from some consumers for “gig-economy models that actually allow workers to have a fair wage, and contribute to the creation of a just and equitable society.”
But, he added, the reality of competing against big multinationals means the company could be in for a bumpy ride.
This was one of the signs displayed on cars that circled Toronto’s Union Station as part of a gig-worker and driver protest this week against ride-hailing companies and food-delivery services. (Philippe de Montigny/CBC)
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
