Jayride buys US website

JAYRIDE is pushing further into the American market with the purchase of a leading US airport shuttle booking website, AirportShuttles.com.

The Aussie airport transport company will complete the $303,000 transaction in Feb, gaining the company’s assets including its top level domain, broader technology, IP, as well as existing website traffic.

Jayride Group co-founder and Managing Director, Rod Bishop, described the acquisition as “a compelling fit with our growth strategy to build the world’s leader in rides for travellers”.

“The traffic to the AirportShuttles.com website enhances the scale of our group, particularly in the United States, and accelerates our path to being cash flow positive.”

Jayride was the exclusive supplier of rides to AirportShuttles.com during the pre-pandemic period of Nov 2019 until Feb 2020, during which time it earned net revenue for every website session, as well as for every Jayride ride booked.

The owner of AirportShuttles.com filed for bankruptcy in May last year, after the business conceded it was heavily impacted by the pandemic.

Prior to COVID, the website clocked up 1.83 million user sessions per year, however the latest month annualised sessions reached just 279,000 per year.

Around 70% of the website’s traffic and revenue is sourced from the US market, with Jayride believing that the domain will also be relevant to opportunities beyond the United States.

The company added it expects an immediate revenue uplift, contribution profits, and cash flows once AirportShuttles.com is integrated into its existing assets, at only a minor cost.