SuperShuttle closing, but Austin franchise will live on after re-branding
SuperShuttle, ride and airport transportation service, will be closing it's doors nation wide on Dec. 31. However, after more than 20 years transporting people around Austin, the local franchise will be re-branding.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — SuperShuttle, the ride and airport transportation service, will be closing its doors nationwide on Dec. 31.
However, after more than 20 years of transporting people to and from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the local franchise will be re-branding.
The parent company for SuperShuttle and ExecuCar was purchased by a venture capital company, Blackstreet Capital Management. Billy Carter, who owns the Austin franchise with his wife Kristi, said they received the official notification of the cancellation of their franchise agreement on Friday, Dec. 13th.
He started driving for the company 35 years ago. Fifteen years later, the Carters bought the Austin franchise.
“Fortunately, we had already been preparing for next steps,” the Carters said in a statement. “Now we’re focused on communicating with existing customers and looking forward to 2020.”
The Carters said they aren’t going to let the closing of the national brand end their more than 20 year streak in Austin.
“Our business provides the livelihood for approximately 70 people who rely on us for their livelihood and we want to keep them working,” the couple said. “Austinites choose us for the dependable service, professional drivers, and fixed pricing, and we want to remain a viable service for those who have come to depend on us.”
The couple said they are unsure what the motives for closing the company were.
“We have a successful business already with thousands of loyal customers and hundreds of local corporate and hotel partners who have used us for years,” the couple said. “In the last 18 months, our business has been growing.”
The transition should be complete by early 2020, and changes include a new website, new dispatch and reservations system and changing out the branding on the vehicles.