Ford At Detroit Auto Show 2017: Chariot Ridesharing Service Will Expand to 8 Cities

Chariot, a Ford-owned ridesharing service, announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that it would expand its operations to eight new cities over the courseof 2017, including one outside of the United States.

While Chariot didn’t announce what its new locales would be, it will make a speedy expansion of the company’s service. Currently Chariot offers rides in San Francisco and in Austin, Texas. The company also launched a pilot program late in 2016 in Lake Tahoe, Ca. to help with ski resort transportation.

Chariot occupies a space between UberPool and public transportation. The service runs Ford Transit shuttles—oversized vans that can seat up to 15—on fixed routes around a city. Users can hop a ride with a smartphone app, which shows them where the shuttle is and the route it’s taking.

The routes each Chariot shuttles takes is determined by demand. The company hopes to fine tune the system so it will be able to operate dynamically in the future, mapping out the most efficient routes in real-time to pick up as many riders as possible.

The company was acquired by Ford in September 2016 as part of a larger shift for the auto manufacturer, which is transitioning to a “mobility company,” according to company CEO Mark Fields.

“From our standpoint, any good business has to have one foot in today and one foot in tomorrow. And we’re looking at the societal trends of more congestion in cities, and asking ourselves, what does that mean for our business? And as we expand to an auto and mobility company, it starts with cities, and that’s why we’re laying out our vision,” the CEO explained while speaking at the Detroit Auto Show.

In addition to expanding Chariot, Ford also announced plans to launch what it calls a “City Solutions” team that will work with major cities to help address congestion on the roadways.

The team will look at modes of transportation beyond the cars and trucks Ford is accustomed to working with in order to help make growing cities easier to navigate.