Juno selling for almost nothing
Juno, New York’s third-largest app-based service by market share, is for sale at a nominal asking price by parent company Gett, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person said Juno was losing $1 million a day.
Several other industry insiders said Gett has approached its ride-hail rivals about buying the struggling service. Juno is getting hammered by the city’s new minimum-wage regulations for app-based drivers, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday night in state Supreme Court.
The affidavit is part of a lawsuit Juno filed against the Taxi and Limousine Commission at the end of January to block the new wage rules, which the company said would undermine its business and give Uber, the largest player, an advantage over everyone else.
Lyft also sued the TLC over the rules. Both companies have gone along with them and paid drivers according to the new system while the legal process continues. The affidavit, from Juno CEO Ronen Ben David, states that the rules have increased costs—which has led to higher fares and a 30% drop in ridership since the regulations went into effect Feb. 1, compared with January figures. In addition, although the company is paying drivers more per ride, they are making 17% less on an hourly basis because there are fewer rides.
“This data is particularly troubling for Juno because, before the rule’s implementation, Juno had been on a consistent upward growth trend and projected that trend to continue,” Ben David stated.
In a footnote, he added that the company was examining other factors, such as the recently enacted congestion surcharge, which adds $2.75 to each ride below 96th Street in Manhattan.
He declined to comment further.
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