DALLAS -

A new company is promising to “turn the traditional ridesharing business model on its head,” concentrating on factors such as safety and hospitality, along with passengers’ “in-car experience.”

The company, Alto, enters the on-demand rideshare market with $14.5 million from two rounds of funding and has several investment partners, but the new company wants those who use traditional ridesharing services to notice how it is different from traditional ridesharing companies.

Alto employs its drivers and manages a dedicated fleet. The service is a members-only experience. Members control the in-car experience, from the music to climate.

In the areas of safety and hospitality, Alto’s employee drivers are rigorously vetted, trained and performance-managed. The company’s fleet features new, 5-star-crash-rated SUVs, which it cleans and maintains daily. With the touch of Alto’s app, the Alto car lights up for easy identification as a member approaches. To protect drivers, the app notifies the drivers when their passenger is in range, so the drivers can unlock their doors only for their customers.

“I’m really excited about the potential to disrupt the disruptors in mobility,” says Alto chief executive officer Will Coleman. Alto plans to expand to more cities in 2019 and reach the national level by 2020.

Alto’s investment partners include Road Ventures and Frog Ventures, which designed Alto’s in-car experience and app. The company will initiate another fundraising round this spring for growth and expansion.