GroundLink Car Service Platform Tackles Its Biggest Obstacle Yet: Los Angeles Traffic

Jordan Crook studied English Literature at New York University before entering the tech space. Prior to joining TechCrunch, Crook dabbled in mobile marketing and mobile apps as well as doing device reviews for MobileMarketer and MobileBurn. Crook is fascinated with alternative energy production and greentech. She is now a writer for CrunchGear. ? Learn More

You’ve heard of GroundLink before. They offer ground transportation with up-front before-you-ride pricing throughout the U.S., and like Uber, you can book everything from your phone.

The service basically puts all the control in the hands of the customer. You can book a reservation way in advance, or on-demand if you’re in NYC. Plus, you can choose what type of car you want, including hybrid/green vehicles, and watch the driver on a map as your ride approaches.

But today, GroundLink is tackling its greatest obstacle yet: Los Angeles traffic. The company is now offering on-demand ground transportation in the most traffic-ridden city in the country.

When I asked CEO Charles Fraas why the company wanted to delve into LA his answer was bold, and two-fold:

First of all, it’s the second largest ground transportation market in the U.S. Second to that, it’s one of the biggest challenges for us. It’s a market with the most challenging ground transportation, the nastiest traffic, and most difficult place to get from point A to point B. We can solve this problem, and we’re ready to show it off.

It’s a confident response, to say the least, but GroundLink is a confident company overall. They guarantee on-time service, and if they’re more than five minutes late picking you up, your next ride is free.

They can make such promises thanks to the recent acquisition of a company called Limo Anywhere. Limo Anywhere tech allows GroundLink to track all vehicle availability in real-time in the area, within a network of 45,000 transportation providers. This is the largest network of ground transportation in the world, and 4,000 of those cars are chilling in LA.

The long-term plan is to offer the same on-demand car services coming to LA (and already in NY) nationwide over the coming months.

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GroundLink is a technology company that built the “OpenTable” of ground transportation. GroundLink aggregates, manages and handles payments for Limo, Taxi and shuttle services worldwide. On the supply side, the GroundLink marketplace aggregates pricing and availability for 45,000 suppliers in the GroundLink network. On the demand side, GroundLink provides its affiliates with a steady flow of jobs through several company-owned retail sites, mobile applications and exclusive partnerships with well-known travel companies like JetBlue, Royal Caribbean, Kayak and Continental...

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Posted in: Angeles,Biggest,GroundLink,Obstacle,Platform,Service,Tackles,Traffic