NEW YORK CITY—Daimler Bus has invested in a partnership with the Rally bus ridesharing technology company to attract new riders to the motorcoach industry and assist operators in increasing fleet utilization.
“Rally and Daimler are planning a strategic cooperation for the on-demand bus market, specifically related with event-based mobility,” stated Daimler in a Nov. 16 press release.
“Daimler Buses and Rally both envision high-occupancy vehicles as a solution to the mobility challenges of the future—especially with rising urbanization and emphasis on experimental spending. Ridesharing services have unlocked value in adjacent industries, and similarly, Rally takes advantage of the underutilized assets of local bus fleets.”
Rally, launched in 2015 and based in New York, has booked trips in 3,000 cities with 500 charter motorcoach operators in the U.S. and Canada, said Numann Akram, founder and chief executive officer. The company’s website and apps match potential riders and destinations to aggregate groups traveling to concerts and sporting events. When sufficient interest is gathered to build a trip, the business is offered to a motorcoach operator.
Daimler Bus, based in Stuttgart, Germany, manufacturers motorcoaches under the brands Mercedes-Benz, BharatBenz and Setra, which is distributed in North America. The Rally board of directors has been joined by Alexander Poschl, head of strategy and innovation at Daimler Buses.
“We are very excited for this news,” Akram said. “Daimler is looking for innovative companies to partner with. On my first visit with the CEO of Daimler Buses, he asked if this is going to hurt his customers. Once he understood that we are creating new demand for buses—taking people out of cars and putting them on buses—he lit up. This is a real validation for us.”
Rally has partnered with National Football League teams and some NASCAR auto racing tracks to build charter groups. The company also assists existing groups in planning their own trips and booking motorcoaches. Akram says he sees potential for growth in motorcoach travel based on the marketing trends exhibited by younger consumers.
“We are seeing reduced car ownership, interest in sustainability and increased experiential spending.”
