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Philadelphia is about to get a new ride-sharing service, a la Uber and Lyft. But there’s a catch: It’s all free for riders.
Raj Singh, a former Drexel student who founded a drone-based ad company, is now preparing to launch NoMoCab, a on-demand car service that offers free rides to passengers and makes money off of advertisers that pay for car wraps and product promotions inside the vehicles.
According to a news release, starting at 4 p.m., consumers who signed up for the beta test can use Singh’s app and start testing the service in earnest. For now, the app has been capped at 1,000 users for the testing phase.
NoMoCab currently has 50 cars in its fleet that will be available near college campuses in the city. The company expects the fleet to rise to 500 vehicles in the Philadelphia area within the next six months.
A crowdfunder campaign is underway to help fund NoMoCab, and, according to the release, it’s also in the process of raising $10 million at a $100 million valuation. Singh is looking to expand to new cities like New York and Boston within the next year.
According to the NoMoCab site, advertising on a car will cost “the price of an average billboard,” and includes a car wrap as well as promotion of the product the company is selling inside the car. Estimated average monthly income for drivers who take part is $3,000.
Singh was featured by Billy Penn in January as one of 17 young leaders making a difference in the startup scene. Read more about him here.
