Today, we’re excited to introduce Chariot Direct, our new product designed for people who commute daily to parts of the city outside of the downtown area.

How is this different from regular Chariot? The service you know is a fixed route with fixed pick-ups and drop-offs, similar to a bus route going from ‘A to B’ to bring people from neighborhoods throughout the city to downtown, like Pac Heights to Caltrain. Chariot Direct will go from ‘B to A,’ bringing people from a range of downtown stops to areas across the city, going the reverse direction of the existing daily Chariot commute routes.

There’s one more key difference: rather than having fixed drop-off points, Chariot Direct uses customer data in real-time to pick the most convenient stops along the general route based on where people need to go. No need to do anything different to take advantage of the new feature–simply enter your destination address, and Direct will drop you off at a white or yellow curb zone within walking distance to your destination.

To try it out, just download the app, enter your home and work addresses, and book a Chariot.

Download the app!

We heard from students, school teachers, office and retail workers who wanted to use Chariot but work in hard-to-reach neighborhoods like the JCC in Presidio Heights, USF in NoPa, or schools in Pac Heights and the Marina. By providing them a last mile solution from transit hubs like BART, Caltrain, Transbay and the ferry terminals, Chariot is now the most reliable, cost-effective way for people headed to work all over San Francisco.

Please send us your feedback to @rideChariot or via the Support section in the mobile app and let us know how we can continue to be the solution for you. See you on the road!

Albert Cheng – Head of Product, Chariot