Sidecar Shuts Down

Sidecar will officially shut down its ride-sharing and delivery operations at 2 p.m. PST on Thursday Dec. 31.

“Today is a turning point for Sidecar as we prepare to end our ride and delivery service so we can work on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing,” co-founders Sunil Paul and Jahan Khanna wrote in a blog post.

Founded in 2012, Sidecar offered a ride-sharing mobile app to connect riders with drivers in their personal vehicle. Then it added Shared Rides, a discounted carpooling app. Earlier this year, Sidecar launched a package delivery service, which combined people and packages on the same route.

“Our vision is to reinvent transportation and we’ve achieved that with ridesharing and deliveries,” Paul and Khanna said in the blog. “It is, however, a bittersweet victory. Shutting down the Sidecar service is a disappointment for our team and our fans.”

Sidecar has been available in 10 cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. It was backed by several investors such as Avalon Ventures, Google Ventures and Sir Richard Branson.