Kater is a Vancouver based Mobility as a Service company that has launched a hybrid ride hailing solution that combines the best of both taxis and the traditional ride hailing offerings and incorporates that solution into existing public transportation to provide a complete and seamless inter-modal transportation option.
Most forward-looking cities in North America are looking for a ride hailing / transportation service that provides a solution that acknowledges existing stakeholders, congestion, infrastructure use, and public transportation. In many cities, ride hailing expansion is being capped and jurisdictions are looking for a holistic solution that certainly focuses on the customer experience, but doesn’t negatively impact other facets of general city management.
The initial Kater service will be similar to many other ride-hailing apps in that the user can enter their location and destination, be given a price for the ride, track the arrival time and vehicle information, and then allow all payments to be handled through the app. The next phase of the service will integrate both public transportation as well as existing taxi fleets. The result being that a user can book a trip that incorporates any combination of Kater vehicle, subway service, taxis, car-sharing options, or even scooters. The Kater algorithm will take into consideration a user’s priorities, whether cost, time, schedule, arrival time, and so forth, and then assign a trip selection that incorporates various modes of transportation and issues a boarding pass which allows access throughout the trip. Kater will handle all payment remittances to the various different service providers.
Kater is providing a solution, initially launching in Vancouver and then scaling from there, that takes the best features from both taxis and ride-hailing, and fits within cities overall operational plans by not increasing congestion, while integrating public transportation into its offering, and not alienating existing stakeholders.