RideTandem

RideTandem was founded in 2019 by Alex Shapland-Howes, Tatseng Chiam, and Huw McLeod, who met through the Zinc impact-focused venture builder and were united by a shared concern about transport poverty — the barrier that prevents millions of people from accessing jobs, healthcare, and education because they have no reliable, affordable way to get there. The company's founding moment came when the co-founders met unemployed fathers outside Manchester who told them the biggest obstacle to finding work was simply getting there. They set out to build a model that could fix this at scale.

RideTandem's platform turns existing local transport fleets — taxis, minibuses, and coaches — into smart, employer-funded shuttle services. The company manages the entire operation: route design, passenger booking via mobile app, driver management, real-time tracking, and impact reporting. Employers subsidise or fully fund fares as an investment in their workforce pipeline; workers get a reliable commute that was previously inaccessible; and local transport operators gain a guaranteed revenue stream. The system is built to be flexible, scaling vehicle size to match demand and operating outside cities and towns where conventional public transport has been cut.

RideTandem has completed over two million passenger journeys and helped people earn more than £50 million in wages at jobs they could not otherwise reach. It is the UK's first B Corp-certified employer shuttle service, and counts Royal Mail, Primark, Lidl, and Banham Poultry among its clients. The company raised £1.8 million in 2025 and operates across the UK and Germany.