Rather than having rental car employees transport cars to other locations, what if there was a way car rental companies could utilize a program where they could request a pre-vetted driver?

DriverDo is an on-demand platform and app that connects car rental companies — as well as auto dealerships and auction houses — with drivers who are trained to move and deliver cars. These drivers would be classified as independent contractors.

“As a former owner of a dealership and rental car company, I’m familiar with the transportation of vehicles,” says Zarif Haque, CEO of DriverDo. “I built DriverDo to help streamline the movement of vehicles between locations. I had a list of retired drivers that my company would call to move our cars. My office manager would have to call the drivers on the list to see who could go and pick up the cars; it was a time-consuming task.”

DriverDo automates the process of finding registered, independent drivers by running background checks on their motor vehicle records and criminal histories. Once the drivers are approved, they become part of the platform’s driver pools, according to Haque.

Similar to ride-hailing companies like Uber, drivers can accept or decline a request to move a vehicle. Once they accept, they will receive detailed instructions, logistics and any other documentation needed for the specific assignment, according to the company.

“Through the app, we monitor the driver’s availability status and how close a driver is to the starting point of a job,” says Haque.

Through the platform, DriverDo keeps the drivers accountable by tracking them and monitoring them. GPS tracking allows a rental company customer to know where the vehicles and drivers are at all times during the trip. DriverDo can even send estimated time of arrival reports.

Additionally, DriverDo insures the whole process and each of the driver contractors. According to Haque, DriverDo partnered with a third party insurance company to create first by-the-trip contractor insurance. This type of insurance enables each individual driver to operate as its own business. Each trip is covered with a small premium that comes out of the driver’s pay, says Haque.

Here are some other features of DriverDo:

- Digital documentation: The platform stores gate passes and condition reports digitally that can be accessed by the business or driver. Damage photos can be uploaded and viewed. And rental company customers can receive receipts and expense reports as soon as the driver posts them.

- Driver ratings and rankings: Every driver in the system is rated and ranked based on several factors, including number of fulfilled jobs, drive history and time to completion.

For using the software, customers are charged a location-based fee and a per-trip fee. Launched in March 2015, DriverDo recently completed its beta testing. It’s currently available in the Kansas City area but looking to expand, according to Haque.

“We currently offer driver pool creations to rental companies in other areas,” says Haque. “It takes us 60 to 90 days to complete an adequate driver pool.”

For more information, visit www.driverdo.com.