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Thomas
von der Ohe

Co-Founder, CEO

WHAT DRIVES ME

You come across an opportunity to positively impact societies around the globe maybe once in your lifetime. An opportunity to truly make a difference. Our unique approach to autonomous driving gives us this chance: redefining how people move in a better way. Building and shipping a product with this great team is what drives me day and night.

BACKGROUND

Launched Zoox’ first self-driving vehicle on public streets as leading Technical Program Manager in Silicon Valley, launched Amazon’s first Echo as leading Technical Program Manager on Device Software, Founded two (funded) mobility companies. M. Sc. Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University.

Fabrizio
Scelsi

Co-Founder, CTO

WHAT DRIVES ME

Building products together with an amazing team based on cutting-edge technology to serve a greater purpose and solve problems – for the people, for our planet.

BACKGROUND

Manager of an engineering team in Silicon Valley to build autonomous shuttles, built teams and various mobility products: electric race cars, e-motorcycles, light electric vehicles, electric passenger vehicles, including one of the most successful electric delivery vehicles in Germany. RWTH Aachen, Imperial College London.

Bogdan
Djukic

Co-founder, VP Engineering & Teledrive Experience

WHAT DRIVES ME

Vay is aiming to launch the first vehicle without a safety driver on public roads in Europe. This involves exciting engineering challenges, many of which have never been worked on before, ranging from autonomous vehicle technology, cybersecurity, backend, machine learning and safety-critical SW. Coming up with engineering solutions to these topics is something that I’m super excited to work on at Vay.

BACKGROUND

Team Lead at Microsoft, Senior Software Engineer at Skype. M. Sc. in Computer Science from Belgrade University.

Mariona
Bosch

VP Programs and Engineering Operations

WHAT DRIVES ME

Working closely with people from different cultures and professional backgrounds (hardware, software, operations, etc.) gives me the chance to learn new ways of approaching projects, structuring teams, and setting up processes every day. The results of this incredible teamwork are hugely rewarding, and visible in each step of our product.

BACKGROUND

Part of the management circle at AUDI AG, responsible for the implementation of prototypes at early development stages of new products (innovation vehicles, concept and pre-series vehicles, show cars, design models, testing single parts, PoCs, 3D-printing)

Justin
Spratt

CBO - Business & Corporate Development

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me is to work on goals that have a big impact on society. Additionally, I wanted to work with the smartest and most innovative people in the tech world. That’s better at Vay than any other company I’ve spoken to recently.

BACKGROUND

Responsible for global strategic partnerships at Uber, where he focused on deals with automotive OEMs, vehicle fleet operators, vehicle battery technology companies and electrification infrastructure providers. Was CEO and chief growth officer at Quirk. Began his professional life at Morgan Stanley as a fixed income trader after studying economics and finance. Built the first startup incubator in Africa in 2002 and has been mentoring founders of technology startups for over ten years. He is an angel investor in software technology and holds board positions in some of these companies.

Irene
Molins

Director of People

WHAT DRIVES ME

Driven by a passion for fostering vibrant organizational cultures, I am a seasoned leader specializing in People and Culture. Throughout my career journey, I’ve championed initiatives to empower teams, from crafting recruitment strategies aligned with core values to implementing data-driven processes for optimal People Operations.

BACKGROUND

My background spans roles where I’ve spearheaded the establishment of People departments from scratch and led teams through significant growth. I thrive on continuous learning, embracing remote/hybrid cultures and cutting-edge HR technologies. I leadled innovative solutions to optimise processes and initiatives that rewarded InfoJobs a “Best Place to Work”.
Outside of work, my passions for mountains and my dog, reflect my eagerness to explore the wild and love for 4-legs companions.

David
Gossow

Senior Principal Software Engineer

WHAT DRIVES ME

After having worked in autonomous robotics research for a long time in the Silicon Valley, I am thrilled to be working at a company that is finally bringing this technology into people’s everyday lives.

BACKGROUND

Tech Lead at Google Tango in Mountain View, Research Engineer at Willow Garage, yoga instructor since 2018.

Johanna
Loomis

Lead Industrial Designer

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me at Vay is the enthusiasm and passion for a vision that is embedded in the company culture, and at the same time the strict discipline in its implementation.

BACKGROUND

Industrial Product Design Lead at TEAMS DESIGN GmbH for over six years, started as a Trainee in Shanghai City. Worked as Industrial and Product Designer at LOTHAR BOHM ASSOCIATES LIMITED, Lutz Herrmann Design, Indeed Innovation and Werksdesign.

Vladimir
Bilonenko

Director of Software Engineering

WHAT DRIVES ME

Helping engineers to do their best and most important work. Elegance in software. Bringing ideas from books to real life and from one domain to another. Going from A to B fast.

BACKGROUND

Software Generalist. Maps and Mobility Geek (Lon, Lat not Lat, Lon). High Load at Yandex, Geo Analytics and Last Mile at HERE Maps, Mobility Platform at Daimler. Conway’s Law Enthusiast.

ALINA
PRESTI

Teledriver

WHAT DRIVES ME

A car enthusiast, driven by cars, driving and technology.

BACKGROUND

Nursery school teacher. Driver at Skoda’s start-up Caredriver.

Claire
Eagan

Director of Legal

WHAT DRIVES ME

I’m passionate about leveraging technology to democratize transportation and revolutionize the mobility landscape.

BACKGROUND

Senior Counsel Product & Strategy at Uber handling catastrophic loss claims and litigation, 13 years of experience in product & safety advising and risk mitigation, J.D. University of Illinois at Chicago.

Help center


FAQ

Updated Vay Service FAQ

General Questions

You can find a detailed summary on how our service works here.

You can rent the car for $0.35/min, which covers tax and insurance. During 'stopover' mode, when the vehicle is parked and you're not driving, the rental rate reduces to $0.05/min ($3 per hour). Our prices are guaranteed to be half the cost of Uber. If you find any trip where we're not at least 50% cheaper than Uber, simply send a screenshot of the Uber or Lyft quote for the same route to weloveyou@vay.io and we'll refund you for the entire trip.

Additionally, Vay will take care of the parking costs if you park in a public metered space. Otherwise, please cover the associated parking costs yourself during your stopover.

You can take the car anywhere! During that time you can do temporary stopovers - you can use the app to lock and unlock the car. Be aware that doing stopovers requires internet connection to lock/unlock the car. At the end of your trip, simply return the vehicle within the designated white area shown in the app. Please keep in mind that your total rental time (including stopovers) may not exceed 12 hours.

Our driverless delivery service operates Monday to Friday from 7am to 10pm, and Saturday to Sunday from 9am to 10pm. You can request a driverless delivery in the purple area.

You can also pick up the car yourself anytime, day or night (24/7). Note: If you are under 21, you can only self-pickup between the hours of 6AM - 10PM.

You can keep the car for up to 12 hours. Don’t forget to put the car into “stopover” mode when you take a break from driving. This will lock the car and you are charged the lower stopover fee.

No! There’s no need to charge the vehicle before returning it. Just park it and we’ll take care of the rest. But please make sure to not return the car completely empty. Leave at least 30 miles of range available. If you find yourself running low on battery during your trip, you can refer to the instructions in the “How do I charge the vehicle?” section.

Before my trip

You can start the trip by getting a car delivered driverlessly in the purple area. Tap the “Get a car” screen in our app. Choose “Request Car” and drop a pin at your pickup location to get a car delivered to you, or select “self pickup” to walk to the nearest available car.

Yes, please check the car for damages before you start your trip and report any damages by sending an email to support@vay.io with a description and photos attached.

To book a car with Vay, you must be at least 18 years old. If you're between 18 and 20 years old, we have just a few guidelines to ensure a safe and enjoyable driving experience: License Duration: You should have held your driver's license for at least two years. Driving Record: Your Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) must be clear of any traffic offenses. Trip Times: For your safety, trips cannot be started between 10 PM and 6 AM.

Just a standard US driver's license and you’re good to go!

Vay works on an on-demand basis. So when you need a car, just grab one through our app. If you chose to pick up a car yourself, you can reserve it for 20 minutes for free via the “Vay” app.

When requesting a Vay, we will make a pre-authorization on your card of $25. This is a pre-authorization and not a final charge. Note, that your banking institution may send you a charge notification at the time of requesting your Vay.

Once you have completed your trip, the final cost of the trip will be charged to your account and your entire pre-authorization hold will be returned immediately. Please note that some banks may require a few days to return your funds.

During my trip

If it was delivered: Use the app to unlock the car, hop into the driver's seat, and wait for the teledriver to welcome you onboard. The teledriver will inform you about the next steps. If you picked up the car yourself: Just open the car with the app and start your trip.

You can end the trip anywhere in the white area by parking the car yourself (“self park”). You can also request a teledriver in the purple area in case you do not want to park yourself. When you've reached your destination, just open the “Vay” app and request a teledriver to take over (“request teledriver takeback”). If a teledriver takes over, wait in the car until they are connected and confirmed that you can leave the car. Then end your trip through the app.

If there is no teledriver available just park the car yourself and end the trip via the “Vay” app. Please do not park the vehicle at paid private parking grounds when you end your trip as Vay cannot cover those costs for you.

Vay’s vehicles come charged. So in most cases you do not need to worry about charging. If you do, the costs for charging the car are covered by Vay. Recharging the car is simple and convenient with the provider “ChargePoint”. Here’s how to do it:

  • Find the nearest “ChargePoint” station using Apple Maps, Google Maps, or the “ChargePoint” app.
  • The “ChargePoint” card is stored behind the driver's sun visor.
  • Swipe the card at the designated station to begin charging.
  • Place the card back behind the sun visor after use.
  • Please ensure your vehicle is turned off.
  • Open the car's charging port - located in the front of the car - by pressing it.
  • Connect the charging cable to your vehicle.
  • The charging station's display will indicate the charging status.

If you make a stopover while charging the car, we can reimburse you for up to 7 hours. Simply email us at support@vay.io with the duration of the car charging, and we'll take care of the reimbursement.

Please ensure not to deplete the car's battery entirely. End your trip when there's at least 30 miles of range left. If the battery is low and you visit a ChargePoint station to end your trip, we'll deduct $5 from your trip cost. Just send an email to support@vay.io.

You can do stopovers anywhere where it’s allowed to park a vehicle. Be aware that doing stopovers requires an internet connection to lock/unlock the car. During a stopover, the vehicle is reserved for you and you are charged only $0.05/min ($3 per hour). Please keep in mind that your total rental time (including stopovers) may not exceed 12 hours.

All public metered parking areas are covered by us, but if you park the vehicle in a private parking area, you need to cover for the parking costs.

Please only park the car in public metered parking areas where Vay takes care of the parking costs or anywhere where parking is free. Please do not park the vehicle at paid private parking grounds when you end your trip as Vay cannot cover those costs for you.

No! Only the person who booked the car is allowed to drive it.

No! Once you start your journey, the teledriver is completely disconnected. You have full privacy and control. If you need assistance during your trip, you can tap the “Help” button in the app and call customer support.

After my trip

There is a “Send Feedback” option after each trip from the trip summary screen. You can also always share feedback directly with the teledriver or send us an email to support@vay.io.

In this case please contact customer support via support@vay.io or call +1 (775) 227-5451

Before your trip, please check the car for damages and report any pre-existing damages by sending an email to support@vay.io with a description and photos attached. This step ensures a smooth experience for everyone. You are responsible for any damages that occur to the car during your rental up to $1,000.

Absolutely! A receipt will be sent your way by email once you concluded your trip.

Emergencies

Remain calm.
Turn on the hazard lights.
Please park the vehicle in a safe spot in case of a minor crash, if you are not sure, wait for the police or call us. Before moving the vehicle, please take pictures of the cars and the scene of the accident.
Call the police and report the accident (they might not come for minor crashes, but we still have to report it.
If the vehicle cannot be moved, call us at the Vay Help desk at: +1 (775) 227-5451 and we will support arranging the towing or sending our service team.
Please fill out the accident report with as much as possible detailed data and send it to our claims department: support@vay.io attaching the police report (if applicable). You can find the accident report under the driver's sun visor.

We've got you covered. While Vay cannot make a decision on coverage in every unique situation, Vay maintains insurance for personal injury that occurs as a result of an accident in compliance with local law. The cost of this insurance is included in your rental price. Please check our Terms and Conditions for all the details. If you have any questions, we're here to help!

Remain calm.
If possible, please move the vehicle to a safe spot.
Turn on the hazard lights.
Call local law enforcement.
For emergencies, dial 911
For non-emergencies, dial +1 702-828-3111
Call us at the Vay Help desk at: +1 (775) 227-5451. We will support you by arranging a towing or sending you our service team.

In the event the police requests that you pull the vehicle over:
Stop your vehicle as far out of the lane of travel as possible.
Turn on the hazard lights.
Turn off the engine.
Stay in your vehicle. If you are stopped at night, turn on the interior light. Good lighting assists in good communication.
Keep your hands in plain view at all times (preferably on the steering wheel) and refrain from making any sudden movements. Wait for the officer to request your license, registration, and evidence of insurance.
Vehicle documents are in the folder under the driver's sun visor.
For any support, call us at the Vay Help desk at: +1 (775) 227-5451

You can find them under the driver's sun visor.

Please contact customer support at +1 (775) 227-5451

Please send an email to support@vay.io with a description and photos attached.