The Next Big Thing in Ride Sharing Started Right Here in College Station
Matthew Iommi, a 2019 TAMU grad, launched Fetii after driving his own private shuttle during his senior year. Now he’s taking his vision nationwide.
October 13, 2021
The internet has brought the world together, and we need a social ride-hailing service to match. The moment Fetii co-founder and CEO Matthew Iommi made that connection, a new kind of ride-sharing solution was born.
When Iommi started his senior year at Texas A&M University, he couldn’t wait to get out into the world and apply what he’d learned as an economics and business major. So he didn’t.
The Dallas native, along with childhood friend and now Fetii CTO Justin Rath, bought a local shuttle business and the two went to work for themselves. Two years later, that investment has blossomed into Fetii, the world’s first ride-sharing service that specializes in getting large groups where they need to go. Fetii’s headquarters are in Austin, but its heart is in College Station, where it all began.
A Social Uber
Fetii operates a fleet of large capacity vehicles, mostly 15-passenger transit vans, that deliver on-demand transportation for groups of riders. It operates much like Uber or Lyft, but supports multiple riders with a flexible check-in system. Fetii includes an automatic fare-splitting feature that lets each rider pay their share using a QR code.
Iommi got the idea for Fetii while driving his shuttle through College Station. “We had our fair share of special event trips such as weddings,” he remembers, “but Texas A&M students used us more as a substitute for Uber and Lyft. That’s when I knew we had a much bigger opportunity on our hands than we’d thought.”
A Selective Approach
Fetii has grown rapidly since its launch in College Station, and has now expanded to Austin. Though its model shows great signs of success, Iommi is determined not to let Fetii’s growth get the better of it.
Fetii remains determined to continue improving their platform in order to provide groups with the best possible means of transportation. Both riders and drivers are supported by a user-friendly IOS and Android app.
[Image: Fetii]
Fetii’s user app lets riders hail a vehicle immediately or schedule one for later. The app’s QR check-in payment technology makes fare-splitting, payment, and tipping a breeze. Fetii’s driver app keeps drivers in touch with riders while providing full navigation, scheduling, and earnings information.
True to its Roots
With the expansion into Austin, Fetii is experiencing promising growth. For the month of September, Fetii transported 28,287 passengers and completed 3,553 trips. Through it all, Fetii never left College Station, and Iommi never intends to.
“Everything we’ve done to date, and everything we’ll become in the future, is built on the experience we gained in College Station,” Iommi reflects. “We started as drivers, and that’s how we learned how to make ride-sharing a great experience for everyone involved. No matter how widely Fetii grows, we’ll always have the hands-on experience we gained in College Station to guide us.”