West Hartford rideshare startup Electra Technologies, which will only use zero-emission vehicles, is offering free rides starting today until the end of the month, when it will officially launch.
The company’s fleet currently consists of two Teslas, co-founder Kyle Bryan said Thursday morning, but Electra is in talks with investors to buy more all electric cars.Â
“We see that Teslas, they’re leading smart technology, and they’re really the ones to grasp the electric vehicle atmosphere right now,” Bryan said.
Electra is a recent alum of the Hartford-based ReSET startup accelerator, which works with local socially-conscious startups in its Parkville offices.
As a promotion, the ride hailing service will offer free rides to customers who can summon a car via Electra’s mobile app (which is available on the iPhone App Store) between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. until the end of April, Bryan said. The company is in the process of creating a “scheduling feature” that would allow customers to pre-schedule a ride 24 hours a day.
Electra’s public launch was timed to fall on April 22, Earth Day, and its inaugural passenger today will be West Hartford Mayor Sheri Cantor. The event kicks off at a 10:30 a.m. ribbon cutting outside Westfield Bank on 977 Farmington Ave.
“We’re really trying to get off the ground and use Earth Day as our public launch,” Bryan said.Â
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