Via optimizes New York school bus fleet using shared ride-hailing algorithm

September 27, 2019 | Case Study

As traffic becomes increasingly congested in cities (in part due to ride-hailing), mass transit vehicles are also affected. School buses, which in New York City travel across 9,000 routes and move 150,000 students daily, are one subset of this category. The bus system is operated by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), but has a poor performance record. Due to reliability and timeliness issues, the buses result in around 1.5 million complaint calls per year. In a bold move to improve system performance, the NYC DOE has partnered with technology provider Via. Via will use its route optimization platform so that the DOE can use it to better manage its fleet of buses. Via was founded in New York in 2012 and provides microtransit and shared ride-hailing services in several cities in the U.S. and Europe. While it has recently branched out into providing microtransit services in cities like Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, this is the first instance of it acquiring a school bus operator.