Latest news with #HarrisonAmit
CTV News
19-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canadian ride-hail service stops in Vancouver amid world record attempt
Ride-hailing company HOVR is attempting to break a Guinness World Record for longest rideshare journey ever taken. A Canadian ride-hail company is hoping to launch its business with a bang with an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest rideshare trip ever taken. Launched in Toronto last year, HOVR is a ridesharing service that says it separates itself from already existing companies by offering a membership model, instead of a commission-based model, where drivers retain 100 per cent of their fares. 'It is about time that we had a national platform,' said the company's CEO Harrison Amit during the trip's stop in Vancouver on Friday, day five of the cross-country journey. The trip, dubbed Connecting Canada, will span 28 days and will see Amit join HOVR's CMO Christian Alicpala in checking off various points across the country as it travels from the east coast to the west and then back again. After getting underway in Toronto July 13 and checking off Vancouver over the course of the weekend, the journey will continue onwards to St John's before finishing up in Toronto by August 9. The drive will be tracked in real time on the HOVR platform and via an independent GPS for Guinness verification, Amit said. The record for the longest continuous rideshare journey is believed to be held by Mr. Beast, a YouTube celebrity who travelled 2,256 miles (3,630 kilometres) from North Carolina to California in 2017. Alongside smashing a world record, Amit says the 16,200-kilometre journey will provide an opportunity to meet the drivers, potential riders, stakeholders, and city officials in each city the company is looking to operate in, so they can get 'HOVR operations up and rolling as soon as possible.' Amit said the initiative has had a 'ton of great support' in every province they've passed through so far. 'Everybody becomes a HOVR lover, it's amazing. The drivers love us. The riders love us,' he said. 'We were just speaking to a few people here in Stanley Park and they mentioned that they can't wait for HOVR to begin their operations here.'
Global News
15-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
Cross-Canada cruise aims to break records, promote new rideshare app
Many people use Uber or Lyft on a regular basis, but now two men from Toronto are offering a Canadian alternative. HOVR is a first-of-its-kind Canadian-based rideshare app that allows drivers to keep 100 per cent of the fares they make. The app has drivers sign up through a $20 monthly subscription, allowing them to make whatever they collect from the rides. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Harrison Amit, CEO and founder of HOVR, and his business partner Chris Alicpala are embarking on a cross-country road trip to promote the app launching nationally, meet with drivers and share some Canadian pride with the hopes of bringing people in. 'It's very important to me that everyone from the investors to the drivers are all Canadian which is why we also launched a Canadian crowdfund, so that anybody in Canada can actually participation in owning a part of the mission and investing in the company,' says Amit. Story continues below advertisement Their tour will last 28 days as they go from Toronto to Vancouver to St. Johns and back to Toronto, expecting to drive over 16,000 km. They're tracking their entire trip through the HOVR app in hopes of also breaking the world record for longest rideshare trip. Katherine Ludwig has more details on the app and their journey in the video above.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
These 2 ride-sharing companies want to provide Torontonians more options
Another new entry into the GTA ride sharing space is a Canadian, Toronto based business called HOVR. Many Canadians have embraced using ride-share apps, and the market is expected to grow with more than 10 million new users over the next five years. Uber and Lyft are two of the world's largest ride-sharing companies, with the former operating in 70 countries with 150 million users. In Canada, the two have dominated the market, but two new ride-share companies are trying to provide Torontonians more options: Hopp and HOVR. 'We are really excited to bring our ride-sharing services to the GTA to have new routes, new drivers, and promote competition in the marketplace,' said David Riggs, the general manager of Hopp in Canada. Hopp, a service by Europe-based company Bolt, operates in 50 countries worldwide and hopes to give riders another choice when they need to hail a ride. It launched in February of this year. Meanwhile, Toronto-based business HOVR is a membership-based ride-share service where drivers pay a monthly fee and keep 100 per cent of the fare. 'It's been an incredible response from both the driver and the rider community. It's been an incredible ride, no pun intended,' said Harrison Amit, founder and CEO of HOVR. The company told CTV News Toronto it is looking forward to growing its service. 'The more licensed, insured platforms there are in our space doing it properly, the better the outcome will be for riders and drivers,' said Amit. With more ride-sharing apps to choose from, does it really matter which one you pick? CTV News decided to conduct a test and see how much it would cost to go from Scarborough Town Centre to Toronto Union Station at 1 p.m. on a weekday. Based on the results, all drivers would arrive within one to two minutes. The cost of the trip was $35.24 with Uber, $35.62 with Hopp and $35.36 with HOVR. Lyft was about three dollars cheaper at $32.35. Prices could differ in other examples depending on surge demand, traffic conditions, and other factors. 'The four apps are all different in how they engage their riders and pay their drivers,' said George Wedge with the Rideshare Drivers Association for Ontario. 'From the driver's perspective and the rider's perspective, it's great because the more options you have,' said Wedge. Both Hopp and HOVR said they hope to expand their services across Canada in the future. As competition continues to increase, it could lead to lower prices for riders, but the Rideshare Drivers Association for Ontario said it's hoping this will also lead to better pay for those behind the wheel, giving them options to switch services if they can make more money.
