Denver is becoming a rideshare testing ground
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A traveler waits for their rideshare pickup at Denver International Airport. Photo: Al Drago/Getty Images
Denver's ride-hailing scene is getting crowded — and experimental.
Driving the news: Throo, a ride-hailing app built around a 0% commission model, announced its Denver expansion this week, its first market outside New York City just three months after launching.
- Meanwhile, Waymo began offering fully autonomous rides to select Denver customers at the start of September.
Why it matters: The back-to-back launches give Denver riders two new alternatives to Uber and Lyft — and two radically different visions for the future of getting around the city.
How it works: Throo isn't building a fleet here. Its app connects to Drivers Cooperative Colorado (COOP), a driver-owned service operating in Denver since July 2025.
- Denverites will continue using the COOP app, while Throo users visiting from New York can request rides from COOP drivers without switching apps, COOP executive director Minsun Ji tells Axios.
- COOP has about 1,600 approved driver-members and another 4,000 onboarding, Ji says.
By the numbers: COOP provides roughly 4,000 rides a month and has paid drivers more than $700,000 since launching, Ji says.
- Drivers receive 80% of fares, while COOP keeps 20% and pays Throo a $1.20 technology fee for rides booked through its platform.
- A downtown-to-Denver International Airport trip costs about $50, with roughly $40 going to the driver, Ji says.
The big picture: Throo is trying to chip away at Uber and Lyft's market share by promising drivers a bigger cut.
- In New York, where the two giants account for roughly 80% of taxi and ride-hailing trips, Throo says more than 55,000 drivers have signed up since June.
- But the New York Times found mixed results, with some drivers reporting higher earnings and others saying there weren't enough Throo rides to make it worthwhile.
Reality check: Both of Denver's newest rideshare models are still finding their footing.
- COOP remains a small player. Ji says it needs to reach about 25,000 rides a month to break even — more than six times its current volume.
- Waymo confronted its own growing pains last week when its driverless vehicle mistakenly traveled through the South Pearl Street Farmers Market during setup after following vendor traffic past a road closure. No one was injured.
What's next: COOP expects to reach 6,000 monthly rides by year's end, according to Ji.
- Throo says it plans to expand to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Pittsburgh later this year.