National Express, VIA and Treepz - the software operations gap

?? The National Express - Stagecoach merger is moving forward. Both companies agreed on an all-shares deal, creating a ￡1.9bn company with 40,000 vehicles and a workforce of 70,000 people. Stagecoach value is ￡437M.?

There is still one more hurdle - regulatory approval for the deal. According to the terms between the companies, Stagecoach is to sell off its Megabus UK and Falcon South-West coach service operations, as well as its 35% stake in Scottish Citylink bus services. That might make things a bit easier with regulators. For more: FT, Sky, Guardian, BBC.?

?? VIA is shutting down its direct-to-consumer (B2C) ride-hailing services. B2C services got the company off the ground (almost a decade ago!) but for the past years VIA was serving B2C only in NYC and Washington. Now that’s over too.?

What does this mean? Not too much. VIA needed B2C services to gain expertise in public transport operations to hone its algorithms and to build its reputation - and both have been achieved: today VIA is the #1 DRT player working with ±500 local governments all over the world.

What doesn’t this mean? end of operations all together. Take a look at ‘Field Operations’ position on VIA’s jobs webpage - some B2B/B2G tenders include VIA’s management / oversight of daily operations.?

In other news. CleverShuttle stops B2C operations and focuses on public transport. The company is also closing its Leipzig hub. This step also has to do with deteriorating ridership numbers due to the resurgence of the pandemic.?

?? Treepz partners with CMS T&M, a Nigerian bus company, to digitise their public transportation solutions. Treepz expanded their own operations to Ghana and Uganda recently, and this SaaS product expands their reach across the continent.?

These three unrelated stories shine a light on one common theme: that in the transportation tech space, the gap between software platforms and transportation operators is widening. Some time ago in the telecoms industry, tech companies such as Google and Apple made traditional telecomm players into a ‘dumb(er) pipe’; but transportation is a local business, and operators hold a much greater power. Who will have the upper hand? TBD.????

Other Mobility news ??????

Uber might be interested in bringing in outside investors into Careem. Uber partners with Opibus, an electric motorcycle manufacturer, to deploy up to 3,000 electric motorcycles in Africa by 2022. Uber to return to Brussels after a two weeks break; the Belgium government had fixed the laws so drivers can now use apps.?

Tier acquires Vento Mobility, a subsidiary of Wind, and gains entrance to the Italian market. This is Tier’s 3rd acquisition this year. Operations in Italy include 4,500 e-scooters in 11 cities and 1,000 employees.?

Italian BusForFun acquired GoGoBus. This is BusForFun’s 2nd recent acquisition, after buying competitor BusRapido ±3 months ago. This acquisition further strengthens BusForFun’s hold on the Italian bus aggregator market; and the company is eyeing European expansion as well.?

VIA partners with NYC Department of Education to provide its TransitTech software. Microtransit in Tulsa. Microtransit in Salt Lake City. Bridj flexi-bus in Australia.?

Ola Electric started delivering its first e-scooter.?

Delivery ????

Flink, rapid delivery, raised $750M in a round led by DoorDash. Post money, Flink is now valued at $2.85bn. Flink has been commercially active for only 7 months, but in that short time succeeded to gain 10 million customers in 60 cities in 4 countries. Read more in this TechCrunch article of the M&As in the rapid-delivery space.???

Lyft partnered with Olo to provide restaurant food delivery. Olo has a ‘Dispatch’ product that manages deliveries with delivery providers; these providers include companies such as Uber, Grubhub and DoorDash. Unlike those companies, Lyft doesn't (and doesn’t plan to) have a consumer facing delivery service.?

Uber’s Careem is launching rapid-delivery in the UAE, starting with Dubai. Tiggy is doing the same in Canada. Krave Mart in Pakistan with a $6M pre-seed.?

Autonomous ??

Toyota and May Mobility launched a free public autonomous shuttle service in Indiana. Toyota is one of the leading investors in May Mobility, who to date raised ±$85M. Mobileye partners with RATP to start autonomous on-demand car service in Paris. Aurora and Uber Freight announced a pilot that has been running for a year now; Uber holds 26% of Aurora.? Mercedes first automotive company to get level 3 autonomous driving approval. Embark on Texas roads. California suspends Pony.ai driverless test permit, following a crash. The company can still continue testing if a safety driver is present.?

This quote sums it up: “MaaS seems to be top of mind for policymakers,” says Matthias Dill, CEO of Energy Impact Partners, a venture fund that invests in mobility startups. “But it doesn’t match with consumer preferences or commercial traction.” A long good read of one of my favourite topics - the MaaS hype.?