Seed3 May 2022

RideTandem secures £1.8m in seed funding led by 1818 Venture Capital to support team expansion.

The seed round was led by 1818 Venture Capital to support product and engineering recruitment.

£1.8MSeed

RideTandem provides sustainable shared commuter services by partnering with local transport operators to connect workers with jobs in areas lacking reliable public transport.

RideTandem has secured £1.8m in a seed funding round led by 1818 Venture Capital. The financing also drew participation from Conduit Connect, Low Carbon Innovation Fund, various angel investors, and previous backers Ascension and Seedrs. The capital will be directed towards team expansion, with a particular focus on hiring within product management and engineering. This investment follows a period of rapid growth for the company, which has achieved consecutive years of tenfold revenue increases and recently surpassed £10m in total passenger earnings generated since inception.

From the founder

"We met some fathers in a small town outside Rochdale. Hearing their experience of transport poverty – they were looking for work, there were opportunities just a 15-minute drive away, but they couldn’t drive and there was no viable way to get there by public transport – was mind-blowing."

Alex Shapland-Howes

Co-founder and CEO at RideTandem

Investor perspective

"Transport poverty is one of the most underappreciated social justice issues, and the RideTandem team has achieved a remarkable impact in such a short time utilising innovative technology. To have done so while building a fully self-sustainable business model and growing substantially even through the pandemic is even more impressive. We look forward to supporting RideTandem as they continue to grow the business and change lives across the UK and beyond."

Mark Smith

Partner, 1818 Venture Capital