Leap Transit
Leap Transit’s recent attempt to spread as a luxury bus company failed. The start-up aimed to make transportation nicer by making buses that had interiors with leather seats and snacks. Leap aimed these buses at techies to commute around San Francisco. However, the company filed for bankruptcy in July, which led to auctioning off their buses. Their buses were not wheelchair accessible and had a pretty narrow crowd. The company also started out using city bus stops without a license.
Leap Transit failed to create its own network or to join the existing networks between transportation companies and commuters. They limited access and appeal of their buses by only targeting techies, which put the company in a weak position in the network because many of their customers had strong ties with other transportation. This limited their expansion as a network. Public buses, taxis, ubers, etc., are in a strong place in the existing network; however, Leap was not seen as that powerful. It was on the end and did not have then many connections. Public buses and taxis were already at a central location in the network and had strong ties with many of their riders whereas leap had weak ties. They did not partner with a powerful company who already had the ties with much of the public. This could have been a better strategy. The bankruptcy also led to an ascending bid auction of the buses. Because they were not that valuable, the auction did not go that high and the buses did not sell for a high price.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/technology/behind-the-failure-of-leap-transits-gentrified-buses-in-san-francisco.html?ref=technology