WOODBURY, Minn. — As the Twin Cities draw closer to May 1, Uber and Lyft remain committed to leaving unless a rideshare ordinance passed by the Minneapolis City Council is reversed. While we wait to see if that happens, one Minnesota man says he has the answer.
His rideshare app, is called MOOV.
"Right now, I'm just moving at lightning speed, trying to get this app out there to the users," said Murid Amini, founder of MOOV. "Hopefully far in advance of May 1."
Amini says his app is much different than Uber or Lyft – drivers would keep 80% of profits, and he hopes to keep more routine background checks.
"My plan is to go further. I'm envisioning doing a deeper level of background checking, potentially more frequent background checking," Amini said. "Right now the city requires a minimum annual background check. I probably would want to bring that up to quarterly as soon as I can afford to."
It's been a mad rush to get here. Amini says he only recently started creating MOOV.
"Less than three weeks ago, about 17, 18 days ago, went and started the company," he said.
Amini is a prime example of the American Dream, whether he's had time to recognize it or not. Born in Afghanistan, Amini and his family came to the U.S. as a child – something that he says lets him empathize with drivers, many of whom are immigrants.
"I talk to these drivers and I get their stories, and it just reminds me of what my parents went through," he said. "They had a whole career and a whole life they left behind to, you know, get somewhere safe. And, you know, unfortunately, your skills aren't transferable. And sometimes the only road you have to affording anything or taking care of your family is to drive for a rideshare."
The big question is how feasible MOOV can be when Uber and Lyft have years of experience. There's also the fact that there are nearly 10,000 rideshare drivers in Minnesota.
MOOV has had roughly 100 sign-ups so far.
"Yeah, I think it would be fair to say that it would be a massive undertaking," Sean Lanterman, Director at Computer Forensics in Minneapolis, working in technology, said.
Lanterman says replicating these companies – especially their costs – will be difficult.
"The reality is, they're not easy to develop, they're not easy to implement, and they're not easy or cheap to sustain," he said.
Still, Amini is determined, and ready to step in.
"If Uber and Lyft want to pull out of the market and leave it wide open, then I and other rideshares are happy to go and fill the space and meet the need," he said.
Amini showed us email correspondence between himself and Minneapolis and St. Paul, showing that he's applied for a rideshare license in those cities. Minneapolis wasn't able to confirm if MOOV had applied but said there was one company that had submitted for a license.
Amini says MOOV has also reached out for an insurance policy that would cover what they need. We also asked if there were plans to immediately adapt for those who rely on Uber and Lyft for more specific transportation – those who are disabled, using rideshare for medical emergencies or even just to get to school.
"That is an area that may be of interest in the future, it has significantly complex, both regulations and insurance considerations and can get quite expensive," he said. "I'm not against it. But right now, I need to pick a place to focus and that's where am I going to have the largest impact the most quickly, and it's, you know, the everyday rides and of course the accessible rides will be a part of that."
Amini says he's spent thousands of dollars of his own money, but is still looking for investors, and will likely need $250,000 to keep operational for the next six months.
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