Founding and early years
Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval co-founded Via in 2012. [12] The company began as a ridesharing service on New York's Upper East Side before expanding citywide. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Commuters could book a shared ride for $5. Eventually the consumer business expanded to Washington D.C., Chicago, London, and Amsterdam. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]
In 2017, the company began offering its software and operational support to municipalities and transit agencies. Partners could buy Via’s software to use as their own white labeled transportation service, or they could have Via handle operations as well, including vehicle fleets, drivers, and on-the-ground management and support staff. [23] [24]
Service highlights
Arlington Transportation
In December 2017, Via partnered with the city of Arlington, Texas to operate 10 on-demand vans as replacements for buses. [25] [26] [27] [28] In 2023, it expanded into neighboring Tarrant County. The program continues today as Arlington's only government subsidized transportation service and has also expanded into neighboring Tarrant County. [29] [30] [31]
Fort Worth, Texas
In July 2019, Trinity Metro and Via launched microtransit service ZIPZONE to allow easier access to commerce hubs and other transit. It marked Via’s third service in the state. The service started with one on-demand zone, and expanded to 3 additional on-demand zones operated by Via and 1 SaaS zone operated by Trinity Metro by June 2022 — all powered by Via’s platform and rider app. [32] [33]
Germany
Via operates more than 40 services throughout the country.
In 2021, Region Hannover in Hannover, Germany, contracted with Via to launch Sprinti. As of 2023, Sprinti serves more than 360,000 residents and received the German Mobility Award in December 2023. [34] [35]
In September 2022, Via and Berlin’s public transport company launched BVG Muva to create better connectivity to the wider BVG transit network, and provide equitable mobility access for marginalized communities. Consequently, the service gave riders with disabilities access to subway stations that were not wheelchair accessible. In its initial phase, BVG Muva was only available for select subway and train lines. As of 2024, it is available citywide at non-barrier-free stations. [36]
In November 2023, Via announced new partnerships with public transport companies in Germany to take over the operations of 10 on-demand public transport services formerly operated by CleverShuttle. [37]
Jersey City, New Jersey
In February 2020, Via and Jersey City, New Jersey launched a microtransit service, Via Jersey City. The service aimed to move residents away from driving private vehicles, especially in the downtown area, and to expand mobility access to areas underserved by fixed-route options. Early surveys showed that 40% of all trips started or ended near affordable housing in low fixed transit areas. [38]
Lone Tree, Colorado
In 2018, Lone Tree contracted Via as their on-demand transportation software provider. In early 2023, the City expanded its partnership with Via to include operations: driver acquisition, vehicle operations/management, scheduling and communication, rider growth strategy, and customer support, delivering a more streamlined program through its turnkey microtransit solution. [39]
London, UK
Via partnered with Transport for London to provide software and operations for demand-responsive buses in Sutton, London. Originally a 1-year partnership, Via received a 3-year license renewal after the program resulted in 7+ million rides in London since launching, saving 3 million vehicle kilometers by pooling multiple passengers into shared vehicles, and more than 600,000 kilograms of CO2 saved. [8] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46]
Miami Dade County
Metro Connect (formerly GO Connect) was Miami’s answer to limited access to transit, medical centers & universities, and parking challenges at Metrorail stations. Via and Miami-Dade County initially designed a turnkey microtransit service to complement and enhance their fixed-route network. As the service hit ridership benchmarks, the City expanded its reach by extending zone hours and upgrading to a multi-modal app that provides public transit options at any given time. [47] [48]
Seattle, Washington
In April 2019, Via worked with King County Metro, transit authority of the City of Seattle, and Sound Transit to provide last mile transportation to five Sound Transit Link light rail stations. In 2023, Via took over operations and software for all of the agency’s on-demand transit services. [49] [50] [7] [51]
Summit, Utah
In July 2021, Via helped Summit County launch an entire transit agency called High Valley Transit. They partnered with Via Strategies to develop a data-driven multimodal transit plan leveraging Remix software. The newly designed network emphasized frequent and direct fixed-route service paired with on-demand zones to increase coverage, efficiency and provide first- and last-mile connections. [52]
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The first time Via took over operations for an entire transit network. As the city’s sole transit provider, Via worked with Sioux Area Metro (SAM) to implement a whole network approach. The first step expanded microtransit service SAM On Demand to unreached areas and extended zone hours in other parts of the city—with enhanced ride booking through an app that showed riders all available public transit options. In April 2024, the next phase of the plan focused on consolidating and updating the fixed bus routes. [53]
Wales, UK
Via and Transport for Wales, the Welsh government’s transit authority, launched a demand-responsive service called fflecsi in May 2020. The program enabled transport coordination between local councils across multiple urban, rural and suburban areas. The service was successful in encouraging riders to use public transport, despite generally declining public transport usage in Wales. [54] [55] [56]
Product Portfolio
Microtransit
Microtransit is tech-enabled shared transportation where routing algorithms use real-time, on-the-ground information to group passengers into shared rides. Routes are dynamic; “schedules” shift based on rider demand; and vehicles range in size from vans to shuttles, or buses, depending on what’s needed for the system. [57]
Paratransit
Paratransit is accessible, door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities, typically delivered by vans or minibuses. In the United States, the ADA mandates that paratransit is offered within ¾ miles of any fixed-route bus line or train station. [58] Via’s paratransit software can improve paratransit for both riders and operators by increasing on-time performance, reducing reliance on manual scheduling, and lowering overall cost-per-trip. [59]
Student transit
Via created a fully integrated and customizable software suite for student transportation, with route planning, a central operations console for administrators, and applications for caregivers, drivers, and educators. The software includes features like real-time bus tracking, continuously updated ETAs, and configurable alerts to help track users. [60]
Remix
In 2021, Via acquired Remix, which had built a suite of transit planning tools used by transit agencies across the United States and internationally. [61] The Remix suite now includes tools for fixed-route service planning, on-demand microtransit planning, fixed-route scheduling and rostering, and street planning. [62]
Transit consulting
Via has an in-house consulting practice, Via Strategies, that specializes in transit planning for tech-enabled and multimodal transit networks. Via Strategies works with city governments, transit agencies, state departments of transportation, and other transit clients on bus network redesigns, feasibility studies, and microtransit planning. [63]
Health transportation
Via’s software supports non-emergency medical transportation, often with the same fleet of vehicles already in use for paratransit or microtransit services. Clients are transit agencies, city governments, and hospital systems. [65]
Citymapper
In 2023, Via acquired Citymapper, a journey-planning app with more than 50 million users in more than 400 cities. Via and Citymapper have worked with municipal governments and transit agencies to adapt the app to fit local needs, with city branding, disruption messaging, and in the case of the 2024 Paris Olympics, specialized routing for event management. [66] [67] [68]
Vehicles
Via operates a vehicle-agnostic platform so its technology can work with any type of vehicle fleet, from cars and minivans to shuttle buses, cutaways, large city buses, and school buses. Via services frequently include wheelchair accessible vehicles, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. In partnership with May Mobility, Via operates AV services in cities such as Arlington, Texas, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and Miami, Florida. [69]
Financing
In May 2016, the company raised $100 million in Series C financing. [70]
In November 2021, Via raised $130 million in a Series G round of financing at a $3.3 billion valuation. Investors included Janus Henderson, BlackRock, ION, and Koch Disruptive Technologies. [71] [72]
In February 2023, the company raised $110 million at a $3.5 billion valuation. Investors included 83North, Exor N.V., Pitango, Janus Henderson, CF Private Equity, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures, Riverpark Ventures, and ION Crossover Partners. [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79]
Acquisitions
In October 2020, Via acquired Fleetonomy, an Israeli startup and logistics company. [80] [81] [82] [83]
In March 2021, Via acquired Remix, a collaborative transportation planning platform for transportation service planners, allowing users to visualize transit data and analyze community and cost impacts of new designs to assess tradeoffs of service planning decisions. In November 2021, Via announced On-demand Planning within the Remix platform. [3] [84] [85] [86]
In March 2023, Via acquired Citymapper and integrated it into its TransitTech platform, enabling the company to connect all elements of a transport system and to offer a unified journey planning experience. [87] [88] [89]
