After operating for more than a year, See Jane Go announced it would halt its services as of Jan. 9 because of a lack of funding.
See Jane Go was started by William Jordan, and his daughter, Savannah Jordan, who were eager to offer a safer ride-hail alternative solely to women. The company was the first of its kind on the West Coast, as it was women-driven, in a literal sense as well as in its fundamental principles. More than anything, the company wanted to help women move forward.
Safety was the No. 1 priority in every policy and program implemented. See Jane Go drivers had to pass background checks, vehicle regulations and inspections, as well as have auto insurance. Users could request rides on-demand or in advance. Parents could even use See Jane Go’s Teenager Pre-Scheduled Rides Program for their 12 to 17-year-old daughters to guarantee they got a safe ride home from school or extracurricular activities.
Two percent of See Jane Go’s net revenue went toward charitable causes for women, with Laura’s House among them. Drivers could choose what their portion of revenue went toward: medical research/breast cancer research, domestic violence, poverty and homelessness alleviation, animal advocacy, financial literacy, or education and the arts. Riders could also donate to their choice of cause any time they took a Jane.
Chief Executive Officer Cassandra Miller is more determined than ever to make sure females everywhere are not without a safe ride.
“As much as Jane has stopped, we’re still fighting to find solutions because there is a void in this market,” Miller says, “It’s just too needed in this community.”
See Jane Go had plans to expand, but considering it’s a young start-up, the company ran into some financial trouble. Since its launch in September 2016, See Jane Go raised just less than $3 million. But it needed $20 million to have it run the way the company intended: an initial $10 million to get started, plus $10 million a year and a half later to get 25 markets in California.
Miller struggled to find enough funding or people who didn’t want to change how See Jane Go operated. She couldn’t get potential investors to see past their two main objections: that Uber would take all the competition and discrimination suits. (Side note: Men could get a ride as long as they accompanied a woman, and men who hailed a ride would be given a ride through a third party at Jane rates.) See Jane Go was forced to cease operation after an investor backed out at the last minute.
Miller is hoping the company can find someone to buy See Jane Go’s assets and help restart it; if not, she hopes an East Coast ride-share service will merge with Jane and make its way to California.
In the midst of all this turmoil, See Jane Go has received a whole lot of love via social media within the past few days from onetime riders. Like us, they are sad to see Jane go.
Yvonne Villasenor is often in a sleep deprived daze daydreaming about ’90s heartthrobs, dogs, upcoming album releases, and what she’s going to eat for dinner. When she snaps back to reality, she writes about OC’s latest music and artists.