Image via Adam Nestler.

If you’re looking to head to the beach this summer and don’t want to rent cars or hassle friends for rides, reserve a spot with Skedaddle. As of this weekend, the bus service will offer its first public trip in Boston from Harvard Square to Crane Beach in Ipswich.

“Traveling outside the city limits shouldn’t be inefficient and expensive.”

Bus prices are a function of distance and time, with the average trip costing $25. However, the first five riders that join every trip ride for $5 and the next ten ride at a 10 percent discount. Seats on the local charter buses can be reserved more than 48 hours in advance and trips can be canceled in the same amount of time.

Skedaddle hopes to reinvent group travel by making the process of exploring destinations outside of cities more efficient. The local startup aims to connect areas that aren’t served by public transportation or frequent bus routes.

With its crowdsourced feature starting last week, Skedaddle makes affordable and direct travel more available to all. “Now, anyone can start or join a route to go anywhere. The routes are open to everyone, and if 15 riders join, the bus departs,” co-founder and CEO Adam Nestler told BostInno. “This is the first crowdsourced transportation network of its kind. As more and more people ditch cars in cities, traveling outside the city limits shouldn’t be inefficient and expensive.”

Launching in January, Skedaddle offered free buses from Boston to the Patriots AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. In the last three months, the service has had over 300 buses booked for private trips to go along with more than 10,000 riders. In addition to the Boston route, another public route has been added in New York City.

“In the next few weeks, we’ll also be rolling out routes with some of our big destination and event partners (music festivals, adventure races, etc.),” said Nestler. “We hope to be in San Francisco and a few other cities by the end of the year. We also have short term plans to roll out a mobile app.”

 

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