Considering that we’re locked in what seems to be a stretch of on-again, off-again summery weather, if there was ever a time to plan your beach-going days accordingly it would be now.
And provided you’ve discovered Skedaddle, a Boston-based startup on-demand bus-sharing program, you can crowdsource a chartered bus ride that starts in the Hub and ends with you at the ocean. Or a music festival in Maine. Or Vermont. As long as you have 15 other people on board, you now have a way there and back. And it can be as cheap as five bucks.
“Getting outside of the city is a pain in the butt,” says Adam Nestler, Skedaddle CEO. “And the idea is [creating] an on-demand, social, fun experience that becomes that bus you took with friends as a kid.”
The way it works is this: Once you’ve created a route you need at least 15 people to join. Skedaddle connects your group to one of the buses it charters (think: leather seats, Wi-Fi, beach provisions like water and snacks). Once the bus is filled, your ride is established. You can start a ride anytime and go anywhere provided the bus has been filled. As to why it’s 15 people and not, say, 10, Nestler says it’s a cost thing, but the way to do this on the cheap is to confirm early. The first five to join get to ride for five bucks. The next ten get ten percent off. Then the rest pay between $25-40 round-trip depending on the route. For now, Skedaddle has a route to Crane Beach in Ipswich that picks up from Harvard Square, and a Kendall pickup that brings you down to Hyannis in the Cape.
Nestler says they’re also planning to roll out a special mobile app for starting routes from your phone or getting push alerts when new routes are popping up near you, and even a meetup/social component to interact with fellow riders.
Chances that could get creepy if not handled right: 50-50.
SKEDADDLE. NOW AVAILABLE. VISIT LETSKEDADDLE.COM FOR INFORMATION AND ROUTES.
Dan is a freelance journalist and has written for publications including Vice, Esquire, the Daily Beast, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, MEL, Leafly, Thrillist, and DigBoston.
