COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

As part of the broader Smart Columbus initiative, commuter solution Chariot – a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company’s mobility arm – today announced it is expanding its service to Columbus, in partnership with JPMorgan Chase and in support of the city’s transformation to become a model for connected cities of the future. Chase will offer its employees the new transportation benefit in an effort to reduce the number of single-occupant vehicles on central Ohio roadways during daily commutes.

Chariot will launch daily service Monday. It will serve up to 400 employees who work at the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Center on Polaris Parkway in Columbus. Initial plans call for Chariot to run its 14-passenger, Wi-Fi-enabled vehicles along six routes during the morning and evening commutes.

Columbus is the fifth city to be served by Chariot, which operates in San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Austin, Texas. The company is currently running 108 routes daily and has plans to expand to additional cities both in the United States and internationally.

“We are excited to serve Columbus commuters and work with Chase to bring Chariot to its employees,” said Dan Grossman, Ford Smart Mobility vice president, Global Microtransit Services. “Chariot is a great option – giving employees the opportunity to grab a ride to work that guarantees them a comfortable seat and internet access, and relieves them of the need to worry about where to park.

“We hope other employers reach out to us, as we look forward to enabling more companies in the area to deliver transit solutions that help employees, residents and cities alike,” Grossman added.

Initial plans call for Chariot to operate six routes during normal business hours – 6-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m. These routes were selected following an analysis of employees’ residential zip codes, with pick-up sites at:

• Slate Hill and Washington Park
• Lewis Center and North Polaris
• Olde Sawmill and Powell
• Upper Albany and Westerville
• Downtown Columbus, with two routes serving Fifth Avenue and High Street

Chariot shuttles will have bicycle racks to accommodate those who opt to bike to their pick-up stops.

“Chariot offers us a great opportunity to relieve traffic congestion, address the parking demand on campus and support Smart Columbus,” said Corrine Burger, JPMorgan Chase’s executive responsible for overseeing the firm’s nearly 20,000 central Ohio employees and 11 corporate buildings on campus. “Chariot’s service nicely complements our own ride-sharing programs and the public transit options already available to our employees from Central Ohio Transit Authority.”

Smart Columbus focuses on expanding and improving the region’s transportation ecosystem to relieve congestion, grow access to transportation, and accommodate the 1 million additional residents expected to join the region by 2040.

“The introduction of Chariot and CMAX, Central Ohio Transit Authority’s first rapid bus transit line, aligns with our region’s ongoing transformation to become a model for connected cities of the future,” said Alex Fischer, president and CEO of Columbus Partnership and co-chair of Smart Columbus. “We are grateful for JPMorgan Chase’s leadership in bringing Chariot to the Columbus market, and are optimistic that the service will grow with other customers in the coming months, creating improved access to jobs for residents across our region.”

About Chariot

Chariot is reinventing the daily commute with a microtransit solution that is fast, reliable and affordable for people living in today’s cities. Designed to be used twice a day, every day, users can easily reserve a seat on a Chariot via the iOS or Android app, and hop on one of the company’s 14-passenger Ford Transit vehicles operated by friendly, professional employee drivers. After launching in San Francisco in 2014, the company participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2015 class and was acquired in September 2016 by Ford Smart Mobility to serve as the cornerstone for its global shuttle services business. Chariot runs more than 100 daily routes serving San Francisco, New York, Austin and Seattle. For more information, visit www.chariot.com.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is central Ohio’s largest corporate employer, and a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

About Smart Columbus

The City of Columbus’ Smart Columbus plan won the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) $40 million Smart City Challenge in June 2016 after competing against 77 cities nationwide to become the country’s first city to fully integrate innovative technologies – self-driving cars, connected vehicles and smart sensors – into its transportation network. Columbus was also awarded an additional $10 million grant from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan, Inc. to accelerate the transition to an electrified, low-emissions transportation system. Aligned investments totaling more than $500 million in commitments have been made by the private, public and academic institutions in the region to support technology and infrastructure investments that upgrade Columbus’ transportation network and help make Columbus the model connected city of the future. Smart Columbus is a regional smart city initiative co-led by the City of Columbus and Columbus Partnership that includes partnerships with The Ohio State University, American Electric Power and many more.

For more information, visit www.columbus.gov/smartcolumbus/.

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