Autoguidovie and Via announce partnership to advance tech-enabled, flexible and sustainable public transport in Italy
May 10, 2023 (MILAN) — Autoguidovie, the largest private bus operator in Italy, and Via, the global leader in TransitTech, are pleased to announce a new partnership that will provide a more flexible, convenient travel experience for Autoguidovie passengers, while also advancing the future of tech-powered, demand-responsive public transportation in Italy.
Through combining Autoguidovie’s experience as one of Italy’s leading transportation operators with Via’s innovative software solutions, the companies will together re-launch five demand-responsive, app-based public transportation services, starting in the Crema, Pavia, Stradella, and Varzi areas in Spring 2023 (more details to follow soon).
Autoguidovie has already established itself as a technologically advanced operator, and the switch to Via as the new software provider will greatly improve the passenger experience. The user-friendly “MIOBUS” booking app developed by Via will make travel times faster and move more people, as well as create more efficient routes and easy directions for drivers. The app will be available starting in June for both Android and iOS.
After an Autoguidovie passenger books a ride through the app, Via’s software matches other passengers headed in the same direction into the same vehicle – creating quick, efficient shared trips that make it easy to reach existing bus and train lines without using a private car. Via’s software is already used in more than 600 communities around the world, including 250 communities in Europe.
The need for smart transportation solutions in Italy continues to grow as communities strive toward national sustainability goals, reduced traffic, expanded access to jobs, and stronger rural mobility. This partnership is just the first step of Autoguidovie and Via’s commitment to introduce innovative and sustainable transportation services throughout Italy for years to come.
"The synergistic partnership with Via underscores how innovative mobility is at the heart of Autoguidovie's strategy, which aims to address the travel needs of today while anticipating those of the future,” explained Stefano Rossi, CEO of Autoguidovie. “Technology, which has already been an integral part of our systems for several years, improves the travel experience and make the service more efficient and usable, so that it can replace private transportation — not only for significant "convenience" in terms of environmental sustainability, but also in view of the high frequency of rides, their flexibility and the high degree of comfort offered. In fact, the new software will respond punctually to customer needs and increase the quality of connections and services operated by Autoguidovie."
The collaboration between Autoguidovie and Via will generate further positive outcomes, allowing the goals of Miobus to be achieved quickly and accurately. The app (free of charge) offers the possibility to book rides both in advance and last minute from the comfort of your smartphone, and has already proven to be successful (with more than 15 thousand active accounts in the different servie zones, about 50 thousand passengers carried per year, 15 buses, 97% booking rates for Noctibus night rides). The new synergy will only enhance Miobus’s potential, especially in technological efficiency and therefore adoption among new riders.
"Via is thrilled to have been chosen as the new demand-responsive transportation software provider for Autoguidovie: together, we will work to create a new frontier of technology-enabled public mobility in Italy," said Chris Snyder, CEO of Via Europe. "Our companies both share a vision of expanding access to efficient and flexible transportation for passengers of all needs, and we look forward to seeing how our software will help Autoguidovie achieve this goal across the country.
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About Autoguidovie
AUTOGUIDOVIE is a leader in road services that lead it to be one of the first operators in the Italian market. Active in the numerous services dedicated to urban and suburban public transport, today it is present directly or through subsidiaries, managed, participated, or in ATI, in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont. The following are part of the Autoguidovie Group: Dolomitibus, Venetiana, Veneziana Motoscafi, STN Società Trasporti Novaresi, Cavourese, Girobus and Senato Hotel Milano. Today AUTOGUIDOVIE has a top-of-the-line fleet, operates with cutting-edge technologies in the field of environmental sustainability, and implements a policy of social responsibility that puts people at the center: first and foremost, the customers, to whom it offers high standards of service, and then the company's own workers, for whom continuing education courses are intended.
About Via
Founded in 2012, Via pioneered the transportation technology category (TransitTech) by using new technologies to develop public mobility systems, optimizing networks of buses, shuttles, vehicles for the disabled, school buses, autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicles around the world. By building the world's most efficient, equitable, and sustainable transportation network for all passengers-including those with limited mobility, those without smartphones, and people without bank accounts-Via works with its partners to lower public transportation costs and provide transportation options that can rival the convenience of a personal car while reducing environmental impact. At the intersection of transportation and technology, Via is a visionary market leader that combines software innovation with sophisticated service design and operational expertise to radically improve the way the world moves, delivering technology in 600 cities and more than 35 countries.