*By Carlo Versano*
As Via celebrates five years since its founding in New York, the rideshare service ー a "glorified bus," in the words of the company's CEO ー is looking to new mobility solutions for its next phase of growth.
Via CEO and co-founder Daniel Ramot told Cheddar Wednesday that he is eyeing the scooter space, which has become a hot sector for rideshares that want to compete for multimodal commuters.
Beyond scooters, Ramot pointed to e-bikes, bicycles, mopeds all as worthy areas for exploration.
"They all work together really well," he said.
Via differentiates itself from services like Uber and Lyft by using "dynamic" platform and route-planning that makes it part bus, part taxi, Ramot said.
Riders are charged a flat fare and sometimes have to walk to specific pick-up points. In New York, 95 percent of Via rides are shared, Ramot said. One thousand routes a day in the Big Apple have at least five pick-ups, making Via more efficient than the carpool services offered by competitors. The company also claims to have saved 25 million pounds of CO2 over its lifespan.
Since its launch, Via has expanded to more than 20 international locations and is working with public transit authorities in cities like Berlin to integrate the service into the "fabric" of urban mass transit.
“We want to make Via a part of public transportation system in the cities in which we operate," Ramot said.
But the company is similar to its better-known competitors in one crucial way: it is strongly opposed to government caps on new rideshare vehicles.
Limits, like the one imposed in New York [in August](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/nyregion/uber-vote-city-council-cap.html), "turn back time" to the days of taxi medallions and more expensive fares, according to Ramot. He said he expects the city's vehicle cap to negatively impact his company at a time when it's trying to expand and innovate.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/via-celebrates-5-years-of-ride-sharing).
Kellie Romack, Chief Digital Innovation Officer at ServiceNow, reveals the company’s latest announcement and how it’s shaping the future of work and tech.
Raina Moskowitz, CEO of The Knot Worldwide, unpacks the 2025 Global Wedding Report, from Gen Z trends to how Taylor Swift's wedding could reshape the industry.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
