The Drivers Cooperative

Name

The Drivers Cooperative

Legal name

The Drivers Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://drivers.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ride-Hailing and Paratransit Services

NAICS

Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310), Taxi and Ridesharing Services (48531), Special Needs Transportation (485991), Support Activities for Road Transportation (4884)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100), Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Ride-Hailing & Taxi Aggregation Platforms (BPAMAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Taxi & E-Hail Operators (TLAFAAAJ), Ride-Hailing for Corporate & Business Accounts (THADADAE), Event-Based / Occasional Shared Rides (Concerts, Sports, Festivals) (THADAFAG)

Keywords

• Ride-hailing services
• Paratransit transportation
• Non-emergency medical transport
• Worker cooperative rideshare
• Driver-owned platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ride-Hailing Transaction Fees: The cooperative takes a 15% commission on each ride fare. Drivers keep 85% of fares. This is the primary revenue stream. Commission percentages are significantly lower than Uber and Lyft (25-35%).
2. Government Contracts - Paratransit/NEMT: Revenue from government contracts for pre-scheduled paratransit and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation services, including Access-a-Ride program.
3. Business Account Services: Corporate accounts for businesses to manage employee transportation, event logistics, and customer rides with centralized billing and reporting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Drivers Cooperative operates a 100% worker-owned ride-hailing platform in New York City and Colorado, connecting passengers with driver-members through its Co-op Ride consumer app and Co-op Drive driver app. The cooperative takes a 15% commission versus 25-35% charged by Uber and Lyft, returning profits to drivers as patronage dividends. Its core services include on-demand ride-hailing, paratransit and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) for the NYC Access-a-Ride program, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, corporate accounts, and civic/election transportation programs.

Product overview

The Drivers Cooperative is a driver-owned cooperative operating a multi-product transportation platform centered on Co-op Ride, its consumer ride-hailing application. The platform connects passengers with driver-members through two companion mobile apps: the Rider App for consumers and the Driver App for driver-owners. The cooperative model differentiates from Uber/Lyft by giving drivers ownership (85% fare retention vs 60-75%), democratic control, and profit-sharing through patronage dividends. Additional offerings include Co-op Ride for Business (enterprise accounts with centralized billing), Access-a-Ride paratransit services, the GoVote civic transportation program, and the Green Transition environmental initiative advocating for electric vehicle fleet conversion. The Colorado expansion operates as a separately incubated cooperative using the same platform technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Co-op Drive: The driver-facing mobile application for driver-members to access the rideshare platform
• Co-op Ride

Products and services

• Co-op Ride (Consumer Ride-Hailing App) Driver-owned ride-hailing mobile application for consumers in New York City and Colorado that allows passengers to book, schedule, and pay for on-demand and pre-scheduled rides, including airport runs and wheelchair-accessible vehicle service. The cooperative takes a 15% commission and drivers retain 85% of fares.
• Co-op Drive (Driver Mobile App) Mobile application for driver-members to receive ride requests, navigate to riders, track earnings, and manage cooperative membership on the rideshare platform they collectively own.
• Co-op for Business (Enterprise Accounts) Enterprise transportation solution offering centralized billing, expense reporting, and fleet management for businesses, with features for employee commutes, airport transfers, event transportation, and customer transport at consistent (non-surge) pricing.
• Access-a-Ride Paratransit and NEMT Services Pre-scheduled paratransit and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation services in NYC, including wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) service, delivered under government contract to Access-a-Ride program participants and other agencies serving seniors and riders with disabilities.
• Drivers Cooperative-Colorado Ride-Hailing Service Driver-owned ride-hailing service operating in Colorado (Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins), launched in September 2024 in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center. Drivers keep 80% of fares under cooperative governance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drivers make 8-10% more per trip compared to Uber and Lyft
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New York Lawyers for the Public InterestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Green Transition initiative for the for-hire vehicle industry. Advocacy organization working on environmental justice and accessibility issues in NYC.
• Sunrise MovementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition partner in the Green Transition initiative. Youth climate organization advocating for environmental justice in transportation.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing services provider. Stripe processes payments between riders and drivers, handling credit card transactions and direct deposits.
• NY Black Car FundminorOthersMandatory industry fund providing workers compensation and benefits for drivers. Charged as 2.75% surcharge on all trips by black car bases.
• Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncubating The Drivers Cooperative-Colorado in collaboration with the NYC Drivers Cooperative project. Supporting launch of worker-owned cooperative rideshare alternative in Colorado.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Revel: NYC-based all-electric ride-hailing and EV charging service, operating a competing driver-owned-style platform with a strong EV/mission focus. Closely comparable on NYC geography, ride-hailing product, and alignment with sustainability/worker-friendly positioning.
• Via: Shared-ride mobility platform operating ride-pooling services in NYC and other cities. Comparable on ride-hailing technology stack, dynamic routing, and partnership model with cities and transit agencies for paratransit-style work.
• Curb: Taxi e-hail app connecting riders with licensed NYC taxi drivers via mobile booking. Targets the same NYC for-hire vehicle market and overlapping driver pool as TDC, with a professional taxi base model rather than gig-platform model.
• Uber: The dominant global ride-hailing platform operating in NYC with ~85,000 for-hire vehicle drivers and the same consumer app-based ride-matching model TDC targets. Directly comparable on product offering, target customer, and ride-hailing economics — the primary incumbent TDC is built to compete with.
• Gett: Corporate-ground-transportation and ride-hailing platform with strong NYC presence serving enterprise clients with no-surge pricing. Closely comparable on the corporate/business-accounts product that TDC offers as 'Co-op Ride for Business'.
• Lyft: Second-largest US ride-hailing platform with significant NYC presence. Operates the same mobile-app-based ride-hailing model and competes head-to-head on driver supply and rider pricing, making it a direct benchmark on commission structure and unit economics.

Emerging players

• RideCo: On-demand transit and paratransit software platform powering microtransit and NEMT services for transit agencies. Directly comparable to TDC's Access-a-Ride and NEMT business, competing for the same government contract RFPs.
• Union Taxi Cooperative: Historic driver-owned taxi cooperative in Madison, WI. Most structurally comparable peer — both are worker-owned transportation cooperatives emphasizing driver ownership, low overhead, and member governance, though in a different city and taxi segment.
• HopSkipDrive: Specialized ride service focused on youth, senior, and vulnerable-population transportation with vetted drivers. Comparable on the underserved-segment specialization (accessibility, safety) that TDC addresses through paratransit and Access-a-Ride.

Others

• Modo Cooperative: Worker-owned carsharing cooperative. Adjacent in cooperative business model (worker-ownership, patronage dividends, mission-driven mobility) and provides a benchmark for cooperative governance structures in transportation, though focused on carshare rather than ride-hailing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thedriverscoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-drivers-cooperative
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedriverscooperative
• Facebookfacebook.com/thedriverscoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Drivers Cooperative