Case Study
TopBus+
Fortaleza, Brazil
Urban
Microtransit
36
250%
Increase in rides completed between December 2019 and March 2022
35%
Increase in fare-generated income from April to August 2022
36
Vehicles
Overview
A steady decline in public transport ridership prompted Sindiônibus, the union of transport operators in Fortaleza, to integrate a more efficient and comfortable transportation alternative to ride-hailing apps and private vehicles into their network to regain riders — while keeping service costs in check. Following an internal feasibility study in December 2019, they rolled out a Via-powered microtransit service called TopBus+.
Solution
The Via Solution was a catalyst for diversifying Sindiônibus’ public transport offering, adding a flexible, data-driven option to their network. In addition to an operations platform that allows oversight of vehicle dispatching and routing, Via’s technology provides a driver app that manages scheduling and navigation, and a rider app that lets passengers book and track shared rides from their smartphones. Most notably, the software gave Sindiônibus unprecedented access to new rider data that drove customer experience and growth efforts such as implementing a variety of payment methods, including a transport card riders could use with TopBus+ and the fixed-line bus system.
Bouncing back from a COVID-19 ridership lull, TopBus+ saw a 250% increase in rides from December 2019 to March 2022. The service built on that momentum, completing 18k rides to 35k rides per month on average from April 2022 to August 2022 — and boosting revenue by 35%. This prompted Sindiônibus to go from 20 to 34 vehicles to accommodate ridership during peak hours.
Sindiônibus now plans to expand the program beyond the city into the entire metropolitan area.
We believe that on-demand public transport is part of the complex transport network of the future that will be adopted by large cities, and all the experience we are acquiring with TopBus+ qualifies our companies to be prepared for this new reality.”
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