RideScout, an Austin, TX-based transportation app, announced Tuesday that it has acquired GlobeSherpa, a ticketing app based in Portland, OR.
GlobeSherpa operates a mobile book-and-pay service in three U.S. cities: Portland, San Francisco, and Chicago. RideScout was founded four years ago as a one-stop-shopping app to access transportation options, including bike-share services, taxis, buses, and trains. The Austin app is now available in 69 cities in North America.
In a press conference broadcast on YouTube, RideScout co-founder and CEO Joseph Kopser said the acquisition will enable RideScout to offer its users a payment system that’s integrated with the transportation options listed on the app.
“The idea is that booking, paying, and access is seamless,” he said. “People are very comfortable using their phones for access to airlines. This would extend that to public transportation.”
Terms of the deal, which was finalized Monday, were not disclosed. GlobeSherpa will remain based in Portland.
RideScout was purchased by a subsidiary of German automaker Daimler AG last year after a growth spurt that saw its reach expand from a handful of cities to dozens in the United States.
