RideCharge Inc., a Redmond, Wash.-based direct connect taxi booking and expense management engine, has raised $4.6 million in Series B funding led by Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR).

PRESS RELEASE

Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR), the world’s leading provider of on-demand Employee Spend Management services, today announced continued expansion of the Concur® Connect program with a strategic investment in RideCharge, a leading provider of ground travel booking that lets business travelers electronically book, pay and get reimbursed for metropolitan taxi, sedan and shuttle transportation. 

In addition to connecting with RideCharge, Concur Connect makes a wide variety of services, inventory and content available directly to Concur clients. Business travelers using Concur® Travel & Expense can book reservations at thousands of restaurants through Open Table, reserve airport parking through Park N Fly and enjoy access to air, hotel, car and rail inventory otherwise unavailable through traditional sources. Best of all, Concur Connect enables these suppliers to also deliver e-receipts directly into the traveler’s expense report, making detailed corporate spend data available for further analysis.

“For most companies, managing the costs of ground transportation is literally the last mile of their travel management program. This presents Concur with a unique opportunity to help our clients take control of this significant, yet lightly managed, area of travel spend, and help their business travelers stay productive and efficient while on the road”, said Steve Singh, chairman and CEO of Concur.  “RideCharge has revolutionized the entire process of procuring ground transportation – from booking to payment – making it easy for any business traveler with a cell phone to reserve, pay and capture the expense of taxis and other ground transportation. This strategic investment strengthens the Concur Connect program and enables Concur and RideCharge to help our clients and their business travelers streamline and take control of yet another area of corporate travel spend.”

Through innovative iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry applications, RideCharge enables travelers to instantly book local taxi service, receive real-time taxi GPS updates about when the car is coming, and pay the fare using their mobile device in over 30 cities nationwide. By seamlessly integrating with Concur Travel and Expense, RideCharge allows travel managers to better control ground transport costs by providing electronic booking, payment, and expense management for taxi, sedan, limo and shuttle services – while virtually eliminating paper receipts and accidental or fraudulent over-reporting of taxi expenses by travelers.

About Concur

Concur is the world’s leading provider of on-demand Employee Spend Management services. Trusted by thousands of organizations to reach millions of employees, Concur’s award-winning solutions streamline business travel and expense reporting, and improve invoice processing – delivering rapid ROI by helping companies increase efficiency, control employee spend and drive down operational costs. Learn more at www.concur.com. 

About RideCharge

RideCharge’s Direct Connect Taxi booking and expense management engine has revolutionized how people book and pay for taxi service nationwide.  RideCharge for Business enterprise solutions help streamline corporate ground transportation costs.  Blackberry users can now get RideCharge by sending an email from their Blackberry to [email protected].  iPhone users can download the Taxi Magic application from iTunes, and anyone can book a taxi online at RideCharge.com.