DENVER — Chariot will abruptly shut down all transit services by Feb. 1, a move that affects thousands of riders in Denver, San Francisco and about eight other metros, the company said in a blog post.
Chariot, a San Francisco company founded in 2014 and acquired by Ford (NYSE: F) in 2016, provides a commuter service with its turquoise vans that travel on designated routes. It also offers an enterprise service that companies can use to transport employees. Both will be discontinued.
Its pilot launch in Denver was announced in October with much fanfare as a new private-public hybrid approach to transportation. The city invested $250,000 in the company through its Denver Smart City program.
“RTD is the foundation of our mass transit system and does a fantastic job, but we can't sit back and expect RTD to solve all our transportation problems,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement at the time. “Cities like Denver need to step up, take the initiative, and be more innovative to enhance or supplement the service our regional transit partner provides so well."
Read more at the Denver Business Journal: https://bit.ly/2Cj523V
