The routing company offers on-demand bus and shuttle services for public transport.
Courtesy: Routing company
Routing companies are deploying apps that bring the convenience of on-demand ride-hailing services to public transport.
Forty Boston startups, led by former Uber Global Head of Product Operations CEO James Cox, develop rider, driver, and fleet management software, where they want to pick up riders, and how to share them. Was evaluated quickly. Efficient buses and shuttles.
While carpool-style services such as LyftLine and UberPool only carry a few passengers on a driver’s license, the Routing Company groups 18 passengers into buses or shuttles to accommodate 2-12 passengers. You can arrive to pick up. Minutes from the time they welcomed the ride.
Riders can pick up at their location instead of stopping on a fixed route.
Cox told CNBC that about half of the bus and shuttle services are operated by public transport, and the other half are operated by US private companies, so startups will work on both. However, the Routing Company wants its app to make bus or shuttle hail a standard service by public transport around the world.
Cox said he helped establish the company in part to solve environmental problems that cannot be addressed by replacing gas and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles. In addition to his work at Uber, he was also a product leader at EV startup Canoo.
“Battery-powered electric buses are good for the world. It’s a net benefit,” said the CEO. “But buying them doesn’t solve the problem that 20-40% of buses are underutilized or even empty. To reduce or eliminate carbon emissions. , Requires multiple solutions. “
In addition, the world’s fleet has a huge number of internal combustion engine vehicles that will run around on gas for years to come. Routing companies aim to use these more efficiently before transportation and transportation companies move to renewable energy-powered electric vehicles.
James Cox, CEO of Routing Company
Courtesy: Routing company
As NBC News previously reported, during the pandemic, a significant portion of the workers arranged to work in remote areas or chose to drive as much as possible, and due to public health requirements the business operations Due to the restrictions, the number of public transport users has plummeted.
Adding the convenience of on-demand services could attract new riders and bring back expired riders, Cox said.
The company has provided more than 75,000 vehicles to date in pilot and commercial programs around the world, including Houston and Seattle in the United States, several small towns on the west coast of Scotland, and Andorra, the Principality between Spain and France. I have been supporting you.
To grow beyond these locations, the routing company is 1500 with a series A round of venture funding led by Galvanize Climate Solutions, a new environment-focused investment firm led by Tom Steyer and Katie Hall. Raised $ 10,000.
Early investors such as The Engine, Systemiq.Earth and Animal Capital, as well as angel investors such as former Uber CTO Thuan Q. Pham, who is also an advisor to Coupang CTO and The Routing Company, also participated.
In an email to CNBC, Pham said he helped the company because he believes it will bring significant benefits to cities and transit riders around the world.
With the technology of the Routing Company, “Cities can enhance and complement transportation services that provide more convenience to riders with point-to-point, on-demand, high-capacity (18-seat) vehicles,” he said. rice field.
“Why can we deploy the right number of minibuses to meet the demands of passengers during that time of day when we run large bus routes that are almost empty late at night and on weekends?”
Pham said his former colleagues, James Cox and The Routing Company, are bringing advanced technology to transportation that they cannot develop on their own.
Pham hopes the company will use its money to hire more engineers and partner with more transportation and private companies. CEO James Cox says the startup is already in talks with large technology companies and universities to help run the campus shuttle service.