Transportation
Bridj Collapses After Just 3 Years
The bus company trying to bridge public transit with ride-hailing shuts down after failing to secure new investment.
In 2014, the microtransit startup Bridj made a bet that public transit and ride-hailing apps could go hand-in-hand, that the mobile app technology and on-demand service that gave rise to Uber and Lyft could also be applied to buses and vans.
And for a while, it looked like CEO Matt George was on to something: It shortened trips for thousands of Boston commuters, it eventually extended limited service to Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, and it got Ford Motors Co. and the Kansas City Area Transit Authority to pilot a year-long experiment in Missouri. Just last year, the company was considering a delivery service called BridjBOX, providing late-night service in Boston, and even integrating AI technology.