A Kiwi startup is promising to disrupt New Zealandโ€™s costly and inefficient shipping industry with a service which connects drivers with free vehicle space to people who need things shipped.

Lonelyseat.co.nz launches publicly this week after two months of a soft launch testing phase.

The premise is simple: if you have spare space in your vehicle and are going somewhere, you can carry something for other Kiwis who will give you money towards your fuel bill.

Itโ€™s a win-win arrangement which sees the carrier earn money from their ride, and the shipper save money when compared to using a shipping service.

โ€œThe cost of shipping items with Lonelyseat door-to-door is at least 50% cheaper than using a traditional service,โ€ co-founder Riki Manarangi (Te Arawa, Ngati Whakaue) says.

โ€œLonelyseat is not only better for peopleโ€™s wallets, itโ€™s also better for the environment. Two thirds of cars in New Zealand are have one occupant so weโ€™ve created a network that makes use of that empty space.

โ€œInstead of putting more vehicles on the road to transport goods, Lonelyseat makes use of journeys already being made. That reduces our countryโ€™s overall carbon footprint which is what weโ€™re passionate about.โ€

Lonelyseat is also working alongside partners such as Trees That Count to offset more carbon than it emits, and assist the Government in its Zero Carbon ambitions.

Since soft-launching earlier this year, Lonelyseat has already built a network of drivers and senders from Kerikeri to Invercargill.

โ€œItโ€™s clear that Kiwis are looking for a better logistics solution,โ€ Manarangi says.

Drivers and senders decide the worth of a spare space but Lonelyseat provides some guidance.

โ€œUsing traditional logistics options, sending a single desk chair from Auckland to Christchurch could cost around $150, whereas our pricing tool recommends around $70,โ€ Manarangi says.

โ€œOf that, the driver will pocket about $60. Thatโ€™s $60 that they would not have received otherwise, and the sender pays less than half of the typical cost. Everyone wins.โ€

To keep the Lonelyseat community safe, drivers are vetted when they sign up and a review system moderates both senders and drivers. Plus, senders can keep track of their items with live GPS tracking.

โ€œLonelyseat is like carsharing but instead of making small talk with strangers in your car, you get paid to just carry their stuff,โ€ Manarangi says.

โ€œNew Zealand is a car country and weโ€™re giving people a simple way to cash in on their long journeys, and offset both their fuel cost and our countryโ€™s carbon footprint.โ€

Manarangi, is of Maori and Cook Island decent, a sustainability graduate of the University of Waikato, finalist in the Soda Inc Startup Bootcamp and former public servant at the Hamilton City Council.


 


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