Stripe San Francisco Bay Area employees can kiss their traffic woes goodbye as Navier rolls out a sleek new way to skip daunting commutes with its hydrofoil water taxi service. The tech company is partnering with Navier for a commuter pilot program to slash travel times and carbon footprints for workers traveling between Larkspur in Marin County and Stripe's South San Francisco headquarters. According to a recent announcement from Navier, the service is set to launch in March and will see Stripe employees gliding over the Bay waters at speeds that turn what was a 90-minute slog into a 45-minute breeze.
Navier's co-founder and CEO, Sampriti Bhattacharyya, emphasizes the scale at which this project could transform commuting within coastal cities. "As we are looking at going to 30 passenger vessels, each of these vessels can take off like almost 120 cars a day from the road," Bhattacharyya told Forbes. "So that's both traffic and reduction in carbon footprint. The impact of this at scale is massive." In the near term, the goal is to expand the fleet from the current six-passenger N30 hydrofoil to larger models that can haul up to 30 people each trip.
Navier Mobility will manage this program's transit services, and workers riding the waves won't have to pay a dime, thanks to Stripe picking up the tab. Pam Van Stavern, head of global real estate and workplace at Stripe, shared her excitement in an email about the novel collaboration, stating, "Our pilot program with Navier will fill a transportation void by offering a more efficient commute option for our employees in the Bay Area." Combining Navier's watercraft innovation with Stripe's investment, this initiative could be the blueprint for the future of coastal city commuting.
In a statement obtained by PR Newswire, Bhattacharyya shared Navier's vision, “Navier conducted a successful, month-long roadshow to engage city officials, transportation departments and other stakeholders in some of the country's largest coastal cities last October and received overwhelming positive interest in bringing high-speed water transit to each metro.” Navier's ambitions stretch far beyond the Bay, with eyes set on revolutionizing urban transit in coastal metropolises from East to West.
The N30 isn't just any boat—it's America's pioneer all-electric, hydrofoil craft, boasting a range between 75 and 100 nautical miles and diminishing operational costs to a mere 38 cents per mile. What's more, its cutting-edge design ensures a smooth ride free of seasickness and the need for extensive ferry infrastructure.
