Hope 100: A ride-sharing startup that puts its drivers and the planet first
Posted 13th March 2020 • Written by www.positive.news • • • • •
This week's piece of Positive News
Pedal Me: blueprint for a sustainable and socially responsible business?
This piece is part of our Hope 100 series, telling the stories of the people and organisations creating hope for 2020 and beyond
Ben Knowles is the co-founder of Pedal Me, a two-wheeled, ride-sharing service based in London. Established in 2017 with just two cycles, Pedal Me now has 42 bikes and 45 riders. It uses similar technology to Uber and gives staff equity in the business.
What inspired Pedal Me?
I worked as a transport planner for a central London borough and I thought using cars and vans to deliver people and goods wasn’t a smart way of doing things. It’s inefficient and contributes towards air pollution and climate change. It frustrated me that people weren’t making use of cargo bikes even though I tried to convince them. So, I thought if people aren’t going to listen to me then I’ll have to do it myself.
Your employees get shares in the company, right?
Riders get equity in Pedal Me when they’ve worked 1,000 hours, and they get paid the minimum wage (£8.21) plus 16.3 per cent commission on all the money they take. On average they take home £11.50 per hour.