FIU Track first place winner: Uber-like service that drives you in your own car

After an evening of drinks, it’s always best to call for a ride and leave your car behind. But soon you might not have to.

A new designated driver service called DeeDee: Your Private Driver sets itself apart from other ride-hailing services by driving you in your own car.

It works similar to Uber and Lyft by allowing a customer to make a request by app. But instead of a driver showing up in his or her car, he will arrive on a folding electric bicycle that can fit in the car’s trunk. For safety, drivers will then attach a dashboard camera on the car’s windshield and proceed to take the customer to their destination.

Thirty-three-year-old Anthony Varas, founder of DeeDee, said the idea came to him in Kuwait while deployed in the U.S. Army. He watched an episode of a television show where a character’s friend was too drunk to drive and shoved a bicycle in the trunk, but it stuck out. He thought the scene was hilarious and decided the concept would help deter drunk driving.

Judges in the Florida International University Track of the Miami Herald’s Startup Pitch Competition agreed, awarding it First Place. The FIU Track accepts concepts as well as budding businesses.

“It’s still a problem even with Uber available, and I have seen the damage drunk driving can do,” Varas said. “The biggest excuse I hear from people is that they need their car the next day when leaving it somewhere overnight to avoid drinking and driving.”

DeeDee is in an experimental stage. Varas built the prototype for the electric bike that each driver will use to zoom to and from a customer’s car, spending close to $10,000 on parts. The folded bike fits in the trunk of any standard vehicle and goes up to 30 mph, just 10 miles over the Florida speed limit for electric bikes. The bicycle also includes regenerative brakes — a mechanism that recharges the bike’s battery through braking.

Varas said his service will be priced lower than competitors’ because a one-way trip home is cheaper than a round-trip fare. For DeeDee drivers, the service will be attractive because they won’t need to maintain their own vehicles or buy gas.

DeeDee’s services won’t be limited to driving, however. Drivers will also be called on to run errands for customers.

Pitch Competition judge Orlando Espinosa was sold on Varas’ idea after reviewing projected revenue from picking up passengers, expenses and the bike itself.

“What made his business stand out was the way everything was tied together — the cost and the idea and the bike — and that it creates job opportunities for people that need an income, especially at this time,” Espinosa said.

As a recent FIU business administration graduate with entrepreneurship dreams, Varas is seeking investment and hopes to launch DeeDee in a few years. For now, he is continuing to study Uber’s business model and sample the electric bicycle with friends, family and potential customers.

“I’m learning every day. I’m dedicated to lifelong learning, but I am looking for help with this because I know I can only take this so far by myself.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "FIU Track first place winner: Uber-like service that drives you in your own car."