CitySwift, has announced it has secured new funding for its data platform that visualises a birds-eye view of a city’s mobility data and creates an operational plan and schedule simulations that can help orchestrate the movements of passengers and help to enable social distancing.
The Galway, Ireland-based transport data company has closed a funding round of €2m bringing funding to date to €3.5m.
CitySwift’s latest solution, a passenger-facing bus capacity checker using AI predictions, works like Google Maps but with the added feature that passengers are able to see how busy their bus is going to be up to two weeks in advance of travelling. It generates dynamic predictions of bus loadings to inform passengers’ journey choices whilst capacities are restricted and as new travel patterns emerge.
Dynamic public transport planning and optimising operations through data is also set to play the main role in the recovery and new future of public transportation and mobility in cities, and CitySwift’s specialist data engine is set to be at the very foundation of this transport evolution.
The end-to-end SaaS platform can help orchestrate the movements of passengers and every vehicle in a city-wide transportation ecosystem, enabling public transport operators to choose the best options available and create a superior service for passengers while significantly reducing operating costs for cities.
CitySwift’s industry-leading data engine for public transport has been rolled out by a number of the UK’s largest listed passenger transport companies, including National Express and Go-Ahead Group, who have collective revenues of over €8billion, where it is being used to reduce operating costs and increase reliability. The technology has enabled an agile response to social distancing measures and lockdown restrictions being eased assisting bus companies in planning and reacting to the new normal.
“One thing we’ve come to learn through Covid-19 is just how important data is – whether for businesses trying to operate, governments trying to reopen or individuals trying to understand this pandemic,” says Brian O’Rourke (left), CitySwift co-founder and CEO. “This has been even more evident for public transport companies as they monitored the effects of lockdown restrictions on their networks and model and plan for future scenarios as restrictions have begun to ease. The CitySwift platform has been leveraged to enable our clients and their passengers to make informed, data-driven decisions as they navigate the road to recovery in these ever-changing times.”
CitySwift’s latest funding will speed up product development and the hiring of 25 new positions, in Ireland and remote, over the next 12 months. The hires will be across commercial and technical roles including business development, customer success, product, data science and engineering, fuelling the expansion of its business in the European market, where they are already working with a number of public authorities.
