Gett Closes Down NY Ridesharing Brand Juno; Partners With Lyft

Ridesharing company Gett, which operates under the name Juno in New York City, is shuttering its operations there and entering into a partnership with Lyft to take on its accounts, according to a report by TechCrunch.

Gett is backed by Volkswagen and has a valuation of about $1.5 billion. It has customers all over the world and works with about 15,000 companies, which is down from 20,000 earlier this year. The company had aspirations of going public by 2020, but those plans have potentially hit a roadblock. 

The company said that it was leaving New York because of the “enactment of misguided regulations in New York City earlier this year.”

“This development reinforces Gett’s strategy to build a profitable company focused on the corporate transportation sector, a market worth $1 trillion each year,” said Gett CEO Dave Waiser.

Waiser said he thinks the company will be profitable by December, and that he hasn’t completely written off the idea of an initial public offering (IPO). 

“We are focusing on reaching operational profitability globally already next month in December,” he said. “Being a leader in the corporate ground transportation, profitable and global, makes our plans for IPO realistic.”

As for the partnership with Lyft, Waiser said that “Juno drivers will be paid in full by Juno for all rides completed by Juno’s service end-date. All Juno riders will be invited to join Lyft.”

Gett acquired Juno in 2017 for about $250 million, in a move to expand in the region. The company gained traction at a time when both Lyft and Uber business practices were being scrutinized, but it never surpassed those two companies, instead nestling in the No. 3 spot. 

The company focused on drivers and revenue in a bid to attract drivers, and it only focused on specific markets instead of overall growth. 

“A year ago, profitability was not a very popular topic,” Waiser said earlier this year. “In Uber and Lyft we see two great companies, but even as they grow revenues, their losses are growing. What is really unique for Gett is that our success, and our improvements in revenues, are in parallel with our Ebitda improving.”