“We’re going to target some other small towns that have colleges: San Angelo, Victoria, then eventually we’ll be in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth,” Managing Partner Steve Wright said. “But San Marcos is the launching point. This is ground zero.”
Steve Wright co-owns the company with Donna Coyne and his son, Evan.
Evan said San Marcos is an ideal location to launch the business.
“It’s a college town. There’s a dense population of bars in one little area,” he said. “There’s a centralized party district.”
"Each one of our drivers we actually build a relationship with, have a face-to-face interview, check everything out and send them out into the world to drive."
—Steve Wright, My Ride TX managing partner
Steve said My Ride TX is aiming to ensure it is “overly compliant” with rules governing transportation networking companies, or TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft. In Austin, rules requiring TNCs to perform background checks and finger-printing of drivers culminated in the two companies withdrawing its services from the city.
Drivers for the company will have to pass a background check, mouth-swab drug test and face-to-face interview. Steve estimated the entire interview process takes about 10-15 minutes. Steve said his daughter’s use of TNCs prompted him to want to ensure the safety of passengers.
“[When you use a TNC] you really don’t know who you’re getting a lot of times,” he said. “We’re not only doing background checks, but we’re doing drug-testing and face-to-face interviews. Each one of our drivers we actually build a relationship with, have a face-to-face interview, check everything out and send them out into the world to drive.”
The company typically charges less per trip than other TNCs, Steve said, and drivers for My Ride TX can keep a higher percentage of their fares.
“That’s a win-win-win,” he said. “We’re a smaller operation. Our overhead is fractional compared to the other companies. We can charge considerably less for the same ride.”
Those interested in signing up as drivers can visit the company’s website.
