Public transport data and technology company WhereIsMyTransport has raised $1.85-million in funding from Liil Ventures and Goodwell Investments, as part of its Series A funding round.

The funding will support the company’s expansion into Latin America and India.

Less than two years ago, the company was focused on South Africa.

“We are delighted to welcome Liil Ventures to our global team, alongside trusted partner Goodwell Investments,” says  WhereIsMyTransport CEO Devin de Vries. “Not only are we strategically aligned, Liil also brings significant go-to-market value in the Latin American market, and a complementary portfolio including Cabify and What3Words.”

Since 2015, WhereIsMyTransport has received investment from organisations such as the Global Innovation Fund, Goodwell Investments, Omidyar Network, Horizen Ventures and Bombardier.

The technology company collects and centralises public transport data from formal and informally run public transport networks (minibus taxis included) on its open platform, thus providing a single data platform for a city’s public transport ecosystem.

This data can be used to help cities optimise their transit networks – reducing operational costs, adding new services for commuters and improving the passenger experience for everyone.

“Our integrated mobility data platform is the technical foundation of our work. The data we collect is available through this platform, and our unique tools and services are built on this technology,” notes De Vries.

The services on offer include data collection (the company tracks and digitalises formally and informally run transport modes), data access (clients may access the company’s unique data to enable their decision-making) and journey planning (clients may power journey planning services through the WhereIsMyTransport platform).

“In South Africa our clients have included Cape Town’s Transport Authority and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport,” says De Vries.

The eight South African cities currently on the WhereIsMyTransport platform are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tshwane, George, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and Bloemfontein.

African cities outside South Africa are Algiers, Oran and Constantine, in Algeria; Casablanca, Rabat and Salé, in Morocco; Gaborone, in Botswana; Douala, in Cameroon; Cairo, in Egypt; Nairobi, in Kenya; Maputo, in Mozambique; Kigali, in Rwanda; Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, in Tanzania; and Kampala, in Uganda.

New to the list are Mexico City, Mexico, Nagpur, in India, and Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam.

Looking ahead, De Vries says WhereIsMyTransport will continue to scale up its business to address poor mobility as a fundamental urban development issue in emerging markets.

“By accurately mapping formal and informal transport networks in these markets, we will become the leading source of public transport-related mobility data in the world.

“And, by making this data available through our intelligent platform (API), we will build the definitive digital solution for sustainable urban mobility, empowering governments and mobility service providers to improve the passenger experience for hundreds of millions of people.”

The focus for 2019 is to broaden the company’s focus and mission in Africa, to continue to develop in India and Latin America, and to explore new market opportunities in South East Asia.

“Our 2019 roadmap of collection projects includes dozens of high-value cities around the world,” says De Vries.

WhereIsMyTransport’s mobility data platform currently integrates all modes of formal and route-based informal public transport. As for services such as ride-hailing and bike sharing,  De Vries says: “Watch this space”.

DATA COLLECTION
“Our data collection specialists work with local partners and project managers to recruit and train teams of data collectors with new skills and new technology,” says De Vries.

“We coordinate projects either on the ground, or remotely (depending on the project), and we validate all data in the field. The validated data is processed by a team in Cape Town and loaded into the platform.

“We have built mobile phone applications which track routes, record geographical information, as well as frequency, fare, and other data. After completing the tracking process, we prepare the data for use – ensuring its accuracy before making it available for clients to use.”

WhereIsMyTransport was started by co-founders De Vries, Chris King and Dave New. The idea stemmed from one of the founders missing a university exam because of a lack of public transport information – specifically the local shuttle bus.

The company is headquartered in London, with research, development and data operations in Cape Town, and business development offices in Africa, India and Latin America.

“Our office in London is close to many of our investors, project partners and other business stakeholders,” explains De Vries.