2023-04-27 12:45:25
When the 49-euro ticket is valid from 1 May and consumers can use public transport throughout Germany, René Braun is also hoping for brisk demand. “The new mobility offer could become a major catalyst for our business,” believes the founder of the Berlin start-up Rydes.
The company has developed an app that employers can use to grant their employees a tax-free mobility credit. Employees can spend this freely for trips in a car-sharing vehicle, for example, e-scooters or buses and trains. Providers like Rydes promise companies a flexible and environmentally friendly form of employee mobility.
However, such offers have not yet caught on. On the one hand, larger companies in particular are often still strangers to app solutions, on the other hand, many employees in Germany have been using the tried and tested job ticket for years. This is purchased by employers from regional transport companies and passed on to employees free of charge or in return for a wage cut.
The Germany ticket, as the 49-euro ticket is officially called, could now make many companies rethink, believes Rydes founder Braun. “Many employers are now asking themselves how they want to manage the bureaucratic effort and are looking around for modern solutions, which we can also see from the significant increase in customer inquiries,” explains the 35-year-old.
Braun always has good news for employers: he can actually help them.
The start-up takes over the application for the 49-euro ticket from the transport association for employers and automatically processes the monthly payment via the app credit.
Use the nationwide public transport for 36 euros
According to Rydes, employees benefit from significantly more favorable conditions: if the employer pays at least 25 percent of the ticket, employees can use public transport nationwide for as little as 36 euros. Any remaining credit can also be used for other means of transport.
So far, Rydes has convinced a “three-digit number” of corporate customers of the offer, as Braun emphasizes, many of them in the tech sector. For example, the recipe box sender Hellofresh, the fast delivery service Flink and the watch marketplace Chrono24 offer their employees the app.
The Rydes founders Martin Miodownik (left) and René Braun
Quelle: Rydes
Companies pay Rydes a monthly fee of between six and 18 euros per user, depending on the range of functions and the number of employees. On top of that, there are commissions that the start-up receives from car sharing providers and scooter rental companies for arranged trips.
Braun does not comment on sales. Just this much: “By the end of 2024, we expect a four-digit number of corporate customers.”
The most important customer so far is Lufthansa
The founder hopes for growth, especially on the corporate side. One of his most important customers so far has been Lufthansa, from which Rydes originally emerged as a spin-off in 2018. At that time, Braun and his co-founder Martin Miodownik were still pursuing the idea of establishing a bonus program for local transport, comparable to that of “Miles & More” for frequent flyers.
However, Braun and Miodownik quickly realized that the product lacked any power. Customers could transfer their tickets from other apps. But they couldn’t even book them via Rydes. Too complicated, which is why the founders later changed their business model.
However, Braun does not want the original idea to be understood as a failure. On the contrary: “The data enabled us to see that people in the business environment are actually willing to switch to sustainable mobility offers if there are the right incentives,” explains Braun. “That was the basis for us, so to speak, to say, okay, we’re now building a platform that offers sustainable mobility from a single source.”
It cannot be ruled out that there will soon be a bonus program in the app again. Rydes already shows each user how much CO₂ has been saved by using certain means of transport. Employers can also use the app to participate in environmental protection projects and thus offset their emissions.
Expansion planted in the USA
Investors have now repeatedly been found for the concept. Rydes recently raised 3.5 million euros in its seed round, as “Gründerszene” found out. The US-VC Assembly Ventures, which specializes in mobility start-ups, Rethink Ventures from Munich and Futury Capital from Frankfurt have also recently taken part. Also on board are the existing investors Lufthansa, the company builder from Porsche, Forward31, and investor and Getyourguide founder Johannes Reck.
Rydes founder René Braun now wants to use the money to further develop the app. There are many ideas, such as improved integrations with existing HR and accounting programs. Expansion into the USA is also planned. The country that is probably least known for its public transport culture.
But that’s what makes the market so exciting, says Braun. Especially in big cities like Austin, San Francisco and New York, owning a car is becoming less and less important. “These will then also be the first markets in the USA for our business model that we will tackle.”
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