Local startup carGo adding delivery, courier services to platform

Cape Girardeau-based ride-hailing service carGO will expand services next month to include food delivery services, call-in car hailing and a courier service.

“Our overall goal is to provide these smaller cities access to the modern conveniences of on-demand transportation,” carGO business development manager Gunnar Knudtson said Tuesday. “We’re expanding these services to use our technology platform as well as the drivers to get people and things where they need to be and deliver quickly as well as efficiently.”

The first new service, called carGO Call-in, will allow people to bypass the smartphone and hail a ride through a company website or by phone. Knudtson said this will be especially useful for people who don’t have access to the mobile app or don’t feel comfortable using a smartphone.

The food delivery service, called carGO Carryout, offers users an option to order, pay for and have their food delivered through the app.

“Some [restaurants] do deliver and some don’t, and this allows for an opportunity for those who do not to be able to offer that service,” Knudtson said.

The third part of the expansion is a courier service, which Knudtson said is needed in Cape Girardeau.

“This is where we see it all going, is this on-demand world and being able to offer that service via our carGO platform,” he said.

The service would offer delivery services to businesses and organizations that otherwise might not have the resources for company cars or drivers.

“CarGO is the first technology company to connect all of these ride and delivery services using a single software platform,” carGO co-founder James Stapleton said in a news release. “We’ve engineered a unique system that greatly expands the use of on-demand transportation to create more opportunities for our drivers to earn extra income, and to bring fantastic convenience to the residents and businesses in the communities we serve.”

Knudtson said the expansion will benefit carGO drivers as much as customers.

“This expansion allows them to generate more income,” he said. “The driver gets to use the same carGO app for all these services.”

Knudtson said he anticipates an increase in drivers to accompany the rollout of the additional services.

“The No. 1 goal was to create those opportunities for our drivers; these services are going to make it easy for businesses and organizations. ... [It will] allow those businesses to reach more customers and provide more of a convenient service. It’s ultimately increasing the opportunities for everybody,” he said.

Knudtson said the software platform, developed in connection with Codefi, is unique to the area.

“To our knowledge, there isn’t another on-demand transportation company that combines all of these services under one platform,” he said. “That’s exciting for us. We’re developing this right in our hometown, Cape Girardeau.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

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