Via (company)

Via Transportation, Inc.
Private
Industry Transportation network company
Real-time ridesharing
Founded 2012 (2012)
Founders Daniel Ramot, CEO
Oren Shoval[1]
Headquarters New York City, New York, United States
Area served
 New York City
Chicago
Washington DC
Website www.ridewithvia.com

Via Transportation, Inc. also known as Via is a privately held American transportation network and real-time ridesharing company based in New York City. The company was founded in June 2012, by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, the company's mobile-phone application facilitates group travel for a flat rate. Via operates in the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens boroughs of New York, areas of Chicago, and Washington DC.[1][2] The company's technology is used in ridesharing projects in Paris, United Kingdom, and Austin, Texas.[3]

As of June 2017, it was reported that Via had raised $137 million in financing to date.[4]

History and funding

Via was founded in 2012 by Israeli entrepreneurs Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval.[5] The service is based on the founders' experience with Sherut taxis in Israel.[6][7] The service originally operated exclusively in Manhattan, before expanding to Chicago in November 2015.[8]

In April 2015, Via completed a $27 million Series B financing round.[9] In May 2016, Via completed a $70 million financing round led by Israeli investment firm Pitango, C4 Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Roman Abramovich bringing its total funding to over $107 million.[10][11] In August 2016, Via launched its service in Washington D.C.[12]

Via launched a partnership with the French transportation company, Keolis in January 2017. The partnership uses Via's technology to a shared ride service operated by Keolis subsidiary LeCab.[13] That same year, Arriva UK Bus in the United Kingdom and Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas partnered with Via under similar agreements.[14][15][16] In June 2017, Via partnered with Curb to allow users to hail a yellow taxi for a shared ride in certain areas of Manhattan.[17][18]

Service

Via's focus is pooled transportation, matching multiple passengers headed in the same direction with an available vehicle. Via is headquartered in New York with offices in Tel Aviv, Chicago and Washington D.C.[19]

In order to expedite service, passengers are picked up and dropped off on the corner of a block nearest to their pickup and drop-off locations, as opposed to the exact addresses.[6] The service operates more like a dynamic bus line than a taxi service, and charges users a flat rate for a ride.[6] The Via service is approved for use with commuter benefit cards.[20]

Reception

A reviewer for The New York Times in March 2015 wrote, "The S.U.V. that picked me up for Via, with one other passenger already in tow, was neither as fast nor as efficient as a service like Uber. But it was friendlier and, as it tends to carry multiple passengers at once, more community-minded than any other car service I’ve taken. And with a flat rate of $5 a ride, it was cheaper, too."[6]

Via's carpooling has also been profiled for facilitating networking among passengers.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Ingrid Lunden (2 April 2015). "Via Raises $27M For Its Flat-Rate $5 Urban Carpool-Style Ride Sharing Service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Via. "When and where does Via operate?". Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ Tomio Geron (June 20, 2017). "Public Transit Agencies Take a Lesson From Uber". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Tech Companies to Watch". The Wall Street Journal. June 14, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Company Overview of Via Transportation Inc.". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Bromwich, Jonah (March 13, 2015). "Like Taking a Luxury Bus: Via, a Ride-Share App, Offers Manhattan Trips". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Meg Graham (17 November 2015). "Via, UberPool Launch Competing Rideshare Services in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Sky, Blue (November 17, 2015). "Via, UberPool launch competing rideshare services in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ Isaac, Mike (April 2, 2015). "Via, a Ride-Sharing App, Raises $27 Million for Car-Pooling". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ De La Merced, Michael J. (May 5, 2016). "Via Attracts Financing, Despite Silicon Valley’s Nervousness About Ride Sharing". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Kristen Korosec (5 May 2016). "Carpooling Startup Via Raises Big Money to Take on Uber, Lyft". Fortune. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Faiz Siddiqui (August 1, 2016). "New to D.C., Ridesharing Service Via Wants to Replace the Red Line During SafeTrack". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  13. ↑ Tali Tsipori (January 31, 2017). "Transport-On-Demand Co Via Launches in Paris". Globes. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Arriva Launches Demand-Responsive Minibus Service". Coach & Bus Week. March 21, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ John Egan (June 1, 2017). "New Ride-Hailinng Service Arrives in Austin - But It's Not Like Uber". Culture Map Austin. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  16. ↑ Richard Whittaker (June 2, 2017). "CapMetro Launches On-Demand Service in East Austin". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  17. ↑ Jordan Crook (June 6, 2017). "Curb and Via Bring Ride-Sharing to NYC's Yellow Taxis". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  18. ↑ Richard Morgan (June 6, 2017). "NYC's Yello Cabs are Adding a Carpooling Option". New York Post. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  19. ↑ Chang, Lulu (August 1, 2016). "Hey DC, Has The Subway Renovation Got You Down? Get Via Instead". Digital Trends. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Commuter Benefits Law FAQs". NYC.gov. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  21. ↑ Tell, Caroline (December 30, 2015). "With Via, Sharing More Than Just a Ride". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
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