ViaVan

ViaVan is a European vehicle for hire company founded in 2017 as a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via. Via and ViaVan also licenses their technology to cities, transit agencies and private organizations to help build their own on-demand shared transit networks.[1]

ViaVan
TypePrivately held company
IndustryVehicle for hire
Founded2017 (2017)
Websitewww.viavan.com

Daimler, Mercedes-Benz' parent company, becomes a strategic investor in Via. ViaVan lets independent drivers carry passengers and retains 15% of the fare. For comparison, Uber keeps 25%. At the same time, it operates with its own vans.

ViaVan operates in partnership with transport operators in a majority of its deployments throughout Europe. Arriva uses ViaVan's technology to operate its on-demand transportation services in Leicester, Liverpool and Sittingbourne, as does the Oxford Bus Company in Oxford.[2][3]

History

In September 2017, Via formed a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans to establish ViaVan, designed to spread on-demand shuttle services in Europe. ViaVan launched its first operations in March 2018 in Amsterdam.

Arriva UK Bus launched ArrivaClick, an on-demand app developed through a partnership with Via, in Kent in March 2017. Via launched Savy, an app using Via's on-demand ride-sharing technology and a fleet of vehicles owned by the company, in Queenstown, New Zealand in November 2017.[4]

In December 2017, ViaVan announced a new partnership with the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) and Mercedes-Benz Vans to establish the largest public sector on-demand transit deployment in the world. Named BerlKönig, the Berlin fleet would contain 300 vehicles and would be launched in spring 2018.[5] In June 2019, the service won the award for best Public and Urban Transport Strategy from the International Association of Public Transport, as well as the prestigious German Federal Inclusion Award in November 2019.[6] BerlKönig has been deemed a success, delivering more than 750,000 rides in its first 10 months, with more than 80 percent of BerlKönig rides carrying two or more passengers in the vehicle at the same time, reaching up to 97% at peak times.[7][8]

In April 2018, ViaVan launched in London and operated initially in central London Zones 1 and 2.[9][10]

In August 2018, Arriva and ViaVan launched ArrivaClick in Liverpool, England.[11]

ViaVan launched in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire in October 2018, making it the company's fourth deployment in Europe.[12]

In February 2019, ViaVan announced a new partnership with Transport for London (TfL) for a 1-year demand responsive bus pilot in the borough of Sutton.[13] The service operates in collaboration with Go-Ahead London and uses dynamically routed, on-demand buses.

In April 2019, ViaVan and Arriva launched the third deployment of ArrivaClick in the Drummond Estate development in Leicester, England, one of the largest new housing developments in the East Midlands.[14] The partnership also represents the first time in the UK that a Section 106 agreement has been used to fund a digitised Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service.

In May 2019, ViaVan partnered with Transport for London (TfL) to launch an on-demand public transportation pilot in Sutton.[15] The demand-responsive bus service operated by Go-Ahead aims to link more people to existing TfL transit and reduce the need for private car ownership.[16]

ViaVan reported it had successfully completed the pilot phase of an on-demand, dynamic corporate shuttle at the Mercedes-Benz Bremen plant in Bremen, Germany on June 28, 2019.[17] Due to the success of the pilot program, ViaVan and Mercedes-Benz announced they would be launching additional corporate campus solutions at other Mercedes-Benz plants.[18][19]

In July, 2019, ViaVan launched Cool, a service in Malta.[20] The service covered 28 Maltese neighborhoods at launch, with plans to expand to the entire Island country.[21]

ViaVan also received a three-year license renewal from Transport for London in July, 2019.[22] The company announced it provided more than 7 million rides in London since launching, saving 3 million vehicle kilometers by pooling multiple passengers into shared vehicles, resulting in more than 600,000 kilograms of CO2 saved.[23][24]

ViaVan announced a new public transportation deployment on behalf of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in August 2019 called “BerlKönig BC” serving as first-and-last-mile connection to U-Bahn railway stations traditionally underserved by fixed route services.[25] BerlKönig BC is the second service ViaVan and BVG have worked on together, following on the heels of their first BerlKönig service, which launched in central Berlin in September 2018.[8][26]

In September 2019, ViaVan announced its first dynamically routed transit solution in Finland in partnership with the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL).[27][28] The service operates in Espoo, allowing riders to book an on-demand trip and connect to Metro and train stations in the operating zone.[29]

In October 2019, ViaVan launched the UK's first fully electric fleet serving on-demand shared rides in Milton Keynes.[30] The service began by adding five electric Mercedes-Benz Vito eTourers to its fleet with plans to expand the fleet of on-demand shuttles to thirty electric vehicles by 2020.[31] The funding through Milton Keynes Council supports the Department for Transport's initiatives around Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, which aims to help cities meet targets for reducing carbon emissions and provide an efficient and sustainable on-demand service for passengers.[32]

Later that month, ViaVan began operating the third public sector deployment of its technology for on-demand shared rides in Germany in the City of Bielefeld.[33] Called Anton, the on-demand public transportation service is a direct partnership with local public transit operator moBiel, the company behind Germany's Bielefeld Stadtbahn.[34][35]

In November 2019, ViaVan partnered with the Netherland-based oil and gas company Shell to launch a fast-charging shared electric mobility project in Amsterdam.[36] The program integrates ViaVan's on-demand technology and operations, “Shell Recharge” technology, and charging station infrastructure into one seamless system.[37] ViaVan and Shell aim to demonstrate that high-capacity electric fleets can improve performance when routing to available chargers is intelligently optimized.[38]


References
  1. Harris, Ainsley (2019-02-28). "Can ride-pooling service Via catch up to Uber and Lyft by being the friendly alternative?". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  2. "PickMeUp app-based buses reach 100,000 passengers". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  3. Blacker, Adam. "Uber dominates UK transport, ViaVan catching up". blog.apptopia.com. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  4. "Ride-share service Savy launched with $5 flat fare". Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. Morgan, Richard (June 6, 2017). "NYC's Yello Cabs are Adding a Carpooling Option". New York Post.
  6. "UITP AWARDS: BVG and ViaVan introduce the world's largest on-demand offer by a public transport company". UITP. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  7. dpa (2019-09-07). "Verkehr: Eine Million Fahrgäste nutzen Rufbus-Dienst Berlkönig". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  8. "Berlkönig: Diese Personen nutzen den BVG-Rufbus am liebsten". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  9. Ghosh, Shona. "Another cheap new Uber rival called ViaVan just launched in London". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  10. "Mercedes' ridesharing ViaVan service comes to London". Engadget. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  11. "ArrivaClick Launches in South Liverpool". The North West Bus Blog. 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  12. "Mercedes-Benz and Via launch ViaVan shared ride service in Milton Keynes". www.fleetnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
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  14. http://www.cromwellstudios.co.uk, Cromwell Studios Web Services-Website Design. "ArrivaClick set to be catalyst for large development in Leicester". Route One. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  15. "TfL Just Launched an On-Demand Bus Service in One Area of London". Gizmodo UK. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  16. "ViaVan & Mercedes-Benz partners with TfL to launch GoSutton". Van Fleet World. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  17. "ViaVan Ride-Sharing mit Daimler Via | eMobilität der Blog". E-Mobilität - Blog (in German). Retrieved 2019-07-22.
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  19. Jordan, Markus (2019-06-28). "ViaVan bringt Ridepooling ins Mercedes-Benz Werk Bremen". Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog / Mercedes Benz, smart, Maybach, AMG (in German). Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  20. Keszthelyi, Christian (2019-07-10). "Cool Ride-Pooling service launches in Malta". Business Malta. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  21. "Cool, a ride-sharing app powered by ViaVan launches in Malta". Silicon Canals. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  22. Informer, London (2019-07-16). "ViaVan Receives 3-Year License Renewal from TfL in London | TaxiPoint Taxi News | UK | Black cabs - TaxiPoint Taxi News". London Informer. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  23. "Transport for London renews ViaVan microtransit service for 3 years". www.metro-magazine.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  24. "ViaVan receives 3 year license renewal from TfL in London | Smart Highways Magazine: Industry News". smarthighways.net. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  25. "BerlKönig BC bindet Umland an". www.busundbahn.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  26. dpa (2019-09-07). "Verkehr: Eine Million Fahrgäste nutzen Rufbus-Dienst Berlkönig". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  27. "Uber rival European ride-sharing startup ViaVan launches first on-demand mobility service in Finland". Silicon Canals. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  28. D'Silva, Krishtina (2019-09-17). "ViaVan launches its first on-demand mobility service in Finland with HSL". Urban Transport News. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  29. "ViaVan launches first- and last-mile transit solution in Finland". Smart Cities World. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  30. Alison (2019-10-25). "ViaVan launches all-electric ride sharing scheme in UK". Fleet Europe. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  31. "ViaVan introduces 'UK first' fully electric on-demand shared ride service". Fleet World. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  32. "TaxiPoint Taxi News | Post". TaxiPoint Taxi News | UK | Black cabs. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  33. Bollig, Peter. "Mit Mobiel-Sprinter Antonflexibel durch Sennestadt". Westfalen-Blatt (in German). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  34. "ViaVan launches new on-demand shared ride service in Germany". International Fleet World. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  35. Brecht, Michael (2019-11-04). "ViaVan moBiel starten Ridesharing Bielefeld | eMobilität Blog". E-Mobilität - Blog (in German). Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  36. "Shell en Uber-concurrent ViaVan starten elektrische deeltaxidienst in Amsterdam - die begint met een paar auto's, maar doel is 100% elektrisch". Business Insider Nederland (in Dutch). 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  37. "ViaVan and Shell to smarten up Amsterdam EV charging". www.just-auto.com. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  38. "ViaVan and Shell Launch EV Shared Ride Project". TechRound. 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
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