ViaVan launches its first on-demand mobility service in Finland with HSL

Helsinki (Urban Transport News): ViaVan, Europe’s leading provider of on-demand public mobility, on Monday announced it will power a dynamically routed first-and-last mile transit solution in Finland, in partnership with the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL). The service will allow residents of the Helsinki suburb of Espoo to book an on-demand ride in the operating zone. On launching the ViaVan in Finland, Chris Snyder, CEO of ViaVan said,

ViaVan is redefining mobility across Europe, and we’re delighted to have been selected by HSL, an innovator in Europe’s transportation sector, to launch this ground-breaking service. We believe that the easier it is to take public transport, the more people will reliably choose it over their private vehicle, and we’re excited to provide Espoo residents with this affordable, convenient, and eco-friendly transportation alternative.

Announcing a partnership with ViaVan, Tero Anttila, Head of HSL's Public Transport Department said,

The purpose of the experiment is to get an idea of how customers view the service and whether a similar service could sometimes serve as a complement to traditional public transport. All measures to increase the popularity of public transport and otherwise, modes of transportation are welcome.

ViaVan was selected as a winner of HSL’s IdeaLab competition, aimed at finding new and innovative mobility solutions for the Helsinki region. As a result, ViaVan received half a million euros for the service program, which leverages its technology and expertise to drive ridership to public transit and reduce the need for private vehicles to commute into the city from the suburban region of Espoo. Passengers can book a ride through the ViaVan app directly to or from Metro and train stations in the service area. Once a ride is booked, Via’s advanced technology matches multiple passengers headed in the same direction into one of eight high-capacity vehicles and dynamically routes these vehicles in real-time, minimizing detours through the use of “virtual bus stops” to reduce congestion and emissions, while providing a highly-efficient rider experience. The six-month service operates in eastern Espoo on weekdays from 7 am to 9 pm, and includes wheelchair-accessible vehicles. To celebrate the launch, trips begin at €2 per ride until 15 October 2019, with fixed and affordable pricing thereafter. ViaVan recently launched its first on-demand public transit service in the Nordic region in partnership with Konsentra in Oslo, Norway this August. In addition to Finland, ViaVan has already launched similar services in cooperation with leading public transport authorities across Europe, including Transport for London (TfL) in the Borough of Sutton in London and Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in Berlin. ViaVan also operates directly to consumer services in London, Amsterdam, and Milton Keynes. Globally, ViaVan and parent company Via has been tapped by cities and transportation players to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. With more than 80 launched and pending deployments in 20 countries, Via and ViaVan have provided more than 65 million rides to date.