When he created the ridesharing service Uride in 2017, Cody Ruberto had a simple goal: reduce impaired driving in Thunder Bay.
To access the service, users download the app on their smartphones and register with Uride. They can then order a ride, monitor the car’s progress, and complete their payment all through the app. For his efforts, Ruberto has been accepted into C100 and Next Canada, national incubation initiatives that mentor young innovators in their journeys through entrepreneurship. He raised capital through a pre-seed investment fund with the province’s Ontario Centre of Innovation, and in 2018, the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre named him Young Innovator of the Year.
The Mexico launch wasn’t an immediate success — “dead” is the word Ruberto used to describe activity in the first few days on the platform. It’s all part of his effort to make Uride both the best driving job and the best service for passengers, he said. Because Uride operates in smaller communities, it’s not uncommon for regular users to be matched with the same drivers over repeated use. Stories have emerged from multiple cities in which drivers and users develop friendships over their shared time in the vehicle.
While playing soccer in Europe, Ruberto said, he was called to a team tryout in a different city from where he was living. He spent his last €20 on a train ticket to get to the tryout, only to learn there was nowhere for him to stay once he got there. That’s why, when he launched Uride, Ruberto decided he wanted charitable contributions “ingrained into the company’s DNA.”
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