Slidr is the name of a new free, on-demand ride service in downtown Asheville. The new business has been in the works for a couple of years now.
Slidr uses electric vehicles that resemble golf carts to shuttle people around downtown, the South Slope, the River Arts District and Biltmore Village. The vehicles have room for six passengers. Service will be provided seven days a week. A new smart phone app is launching for users to connect with Slidr vehicles.
The business owners plan to make money by selling advertising on wraps for the electric vehicles. Here’s more from the Slidr website:
Slidr is a complementary, eco-friendly, and fun alternative to navigating the streets in urban areas by foot. Aside from helping pedestrians get from point A to point B, Slidr also provides a perfect avenue for local restaurants and businesses to advertise their products/services.
Last I heard, the business will be based on Buxton Avenue. Back in January, I noted that business owner Dale Degraffenreid had asked Asheville City Council for permission to use slow-speed electric vehicles on downtown streets. His franchise was called Land of Sky Shuttle at the time. The shuttle service would run seven days a week and hit various points of interest, including hotels, according to the city’s run-down of the proposal.
3 Comments
Yay! Rolling advertisements that get in my way
Cool, I wish them great success. This is much better than having horses pulling carriages, truly an accident waiting to happen.
The South Slope is just an extension of downtown, but how are these “slow-speed” golf cart-like vehicles supposed to get from that zone down to Biltmore Village or down to the RAD without getting in the way of actual, normal speed traffic? And if they’re not actually going between the zones, just camping there, why do they even need one in the Village? It’s just not big enough to need shuttles.