About · 800 × 600
Chauffeur closing a rear door at first light
Chauffeur closing a rear door at first light
About RYDES.
The fleet that was given up to go worldwide, the three-party model, and why the work is not auctioned.
About RYDESPress kit
Everything you needto get it right
Approved boilerplate you can copy, figures you can check, brand rules, and a short list of the things most often reported incorrectly about how this company works.
Boilerplate.
Copy this rather than writing your own. It is the version we will confirm as accurate if you check it with us.
Standard, 78 words
RYDES is a worldwide chauffeur service based in Seattle, operating in 1,200 cities across 90 countries. Journeys are booked in advance at a price fixed before travel and carried out by licensed chauffeur operators contracted to a single published standard. RYDES owns no vehicles and employs no chauffeurs. It sets the standard, prices the journey, holds the booking and answers for it. Work is offered to operators at published net rates rather than through an auction.
Short, 28 words
RYDES is a Seattle-based worldwide chauffeur service operating in 1,200 cities across 90 countries through licensed local operators, at prices fixed before travel.
Both versions are cleared for use without checking with us first. If your piece needs a claim that is not in either paragraph, ask rather than infer, because several of the obvious inferences about this business are wrong. The next section lists them.
Six things reported incorrectly.
Not complaints. These are the assumptions a reasonable person makes about a company like this one, and the reasons each is wrong.
RYDES is a marketplace, or a platform connecting riders with drivers.
RYDES takes the booking itself. A marketplace introduces two parties and its obligation ends with the introduction. When a RYDES car fails to arrive, the passenger contacts RYDES, and resolving it is ours rather than a dispute between the passenger and an operator.
RYDES operates a fleet of luxury vehicles.
RYDES owns no vehicles and employs no chauffeurs anywhere. Every car belongs to a licensed operator in that city. The company did run its own fleet in Seattle before going worldwide, which is a fair thing to write, in the past tense.
Rides are allocated to whichever driver bids lowest.
There is no auction. Work is offered at a published net rate that the operator sees before deciding, and declining carries no acceptance-rate penalty. This is a deliberate difference from the standard model in this industry and costs RYDES margin.
Partner operators are companies rather than individuals.
Both. Around 3,500 operators range from substantial fleets to individually licensed owner-drivers. The word operator is used throughout deliberately, because company would exclude a large share of the network.
The fare includes a gratuity.
It does not. Taxes, tolls and airport access fees are inside the quoted fare. A gratuity is offered separately at payment, where the passenger may add a percentage, enter an amount, or decline.
RYDES describes itself as a sustainable or carbon-neutral service.
It does not, and the sustainability page says the opposite: a private car is rarely the lowest-carbon way to travel. No offset or neutrality claim is made anywhere on this site.
Facts and figures.
Current as at the date below. Ask before publishing anything not on this list.
- What it is
- Worldwide chauffeur service
- Head office
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Cities served
- 1,200
- Countries
- 90
- Airports covered
- 550
- Routes with a published fare
- 45,000
- Partner operators
- Approximately 3,500
- Rides completed
- 1.2 million
- Guest rating
- 4.8 out of 5, from 12,400 reviews
- Vehicle classes
- Business, First, Electric, SUV, Van, Group
- Services
- Airport transfers, hourly hire, city to city, cruise transfers, events
- Vehicles owned
- None
- Chauffeurs employed
- None. All work for licensed local operators
- Supply pricing
- Published net rates. No auction, no acceptance-rate penalty
- Media contact
- press@rydes.co
Figures on this page are reviewed on a set cycle and may lag the live network slightly. If a number is load-bearing in your piece, confirm it with us on the day rather than quoting the page. We would rather answer an email than issue a correction.
Using the brand.
Editorial use needs no permission. These are the rules that keep it looking like us.
The wordmark.
RYDES is set in capitals and always carries a full stop, rendered in copper. The full stop is part of the mark rather than punctuation, and it recurs after every heading across the site. Do not set the name in sentence case, do not drop the full stop, and do not substitute another colour for it.
Written in running text, the name is RYDES rather than Rydes or RYDES.co. The domain is rydes.co and appears only as a URL.
Wordmark · 900 × 600
RYDES wordmark on light and dark grounds
RYDES wordmark on light and dark grounds
Colour and type.
The palette is greyscale with a single copper accent. Copper is used for the full stop, for primary buttons and for emphasis, and never as a background for body text. The typeface is Figtree throughout.
Do not recolour the wordmark, place it on a busy photograph without a scrim, stretch or rotate it, add a gradient or shadow, or set it beside another logo in a way that implies a partnership that does not exist.
Palette · 900 × 600
Greyscale swatches with the copper accent
Greyscale swatches with the copper accent
Logo files, the wordmark in SVG and PNG on light and dark grounds, and a small set of cleared photographs are available at {{PRESS_KIT_URL}}. Photographs supplied there are cleared for editorial use alongside coverage of RYDES and not for advertising. If you need something that is not in the pack, ask.
Releases.
Announcements issued by RYDES, newest first.
No releases published yet. We would rather leave this empty than fill it with announcements that are not news. When there is something worth your time it will appear here, and the boilerplate above will already be accurate for it.
Talking to us.
Media enquiries go to press@rydes.co, which reaches the press desk directly rather than a general inbox. Say what you are writing and when you need it, and you will get a straight answer or a straight no.
We will confirm or correct a figure, explain how the model works, and tell you when something you have been told about this industry is wrong. We will not provide a quote attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, comment on another company's commercial arrangements, or supply a statement for a piece we have not been told the subject of.
If you are working to a deadline inside a few hours, put the hour in the subject line. Dispatch is staffed around the clock on +1 888 881 7933, but that line is for passengers and cannot answer press questions.
Contact · 900 × 600
Plain desk with a notebook, even light
Plain desk with a notebook, even light
For journalists.
The questions we are asked most often before a piece goes to print.
Can I use the boilerplate without asking?
Yes. Both the 78-word and 28-word versions on this page are cleared for use as written. If your piece needs a claim not contained in either, ask first, because several obvious inferences about this business are wrong and the corrections section lists them.
Does RYDES own its vehicles?
No. RYDES owns no vehicles and employs no chauffeurs anywhere in the network. Every car belongs to a licensed chauffeur operator in that city. The company did run its own fleet in Seattle before going worldwide, so that is accurate in the past tense.
Is RYDES a marketplace?
No, and it is the error we would most like not to see in print. A marketplace introduces two parties and its obligation ends there. RYDES takes the booking, sets the price, guarantees the vehicle class and resolves it when something fails.
Do operators bid for rides?
No. Work is offered at a published net rate the operator sees before deciding, with no auction and no penalty for declining. It is a deliberate departure from the usual model in this industry and it costs RYDES margin, which is a fair thing to put to us.
Who can I quote?
Ask, and we will tell you who is available and in what capacity. We do not supply quotes attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, and we will not provide a statement for a piece without knowing its subject.
Can I use your photographs?
The images in the press pack are cleared for editorial use alongside coverage of RYDES, not for advertising or for illustrating unrelated stories about the industry. The wordmark may be used editorially without permission, subject to the brand rules above.
Will you comment on a competitor?
Not on their commercial arrangements, their pricing or their internal practices. We are happy to explain how our own model differs and why, including the parts that cost us money, and to point you at where those differences are documented.
How current are the figures on this page?
They are reviewed on a set cycle and may lag the live network slightly. If a number is load-bearing in your piece, confirm it on the day rather than quoting the page. We would rather answer an email than see a correction printed.
Which address should I use?
press@rydes.co for anything you are writing or broadcasting, including fact checks and requests for comment. It reaches the press desk rather than a general inbox. Passenger and booking questions go to support@rydes.co, and the phone line on this site is staffed for passengers around the clock but cannot answer press questions.
Why are there no releases listed?
Because there are none yet, and we would rather show an empty list than pad it with announcements that are not news. When something is worth your time it will appear here.
Ask before you infer.
Most of what looks obvious about this business is wrong. We answer email.