
A Kiwi startup is promising to disrupt New Zealandโs 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.
Itโs 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.
โThe 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.
โLonelyseat is not only better for peopleโs wallets, itโs also better for the environment. Two thirds of cars in New Zealand are have one occupant so weโve created a network that makes use of that empty space.
โInstead of putting more vehicles on the road to transport goods, Lonelyseat makes use of journeys already being made. That reduces our countryโs overall carbon footprint which is what weโre 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.
โItโs 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.
โUsing 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.
โOf that, the driver will pocket about $60. Thatโs $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.
โLonelyseat 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.
โNew Zealand is a car country and weโre giving people a simple way to cash in on their long journeys, and offset both their fuel cost and our countryโs 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.