Optibus is a leading cloud-native artificial intelligence platform providing cutting-edge technology solutions and services to public transport planning. Its mission is to revolutionise the experience of public transport passengers and create a great transportation experience. Using advanced AI and analytics, Optibus improves customer experience and streamlines and optimises operations.
The company has recently secured $107 million to continue modernising public transport and bring its solutions to more cities worldwide. In this article, we will discuss the potential of this cloud-native AI and how it can be successfully deployed in several cities.
Cloud-native AI Optibus raises $107m. for public transport planning
Optibus is a cloud-native AI platform purpose-built for public transport planning. The innovative platform provides advanced public transportation optimization, planning and scheduling to help cities move more people in smarter, more efficient and accessible ways. With an ethos built upon agility and real user value, Optibus transforms how public transport services are managed globally with its powerful software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings.
Optibus offers state of the art artificial intelligence (AI), optimization technology and dynamic models to enable cities to innovate and coordinate their transport networks in a unified way. Through its advanced algorithm, data visualisations and design features Optibus can help cities plan relocation, reallocation and resource deployment in urban and rural areas, creating smarter operations for citizens, passengers, government and businesses alike.
This revolutionary cloud-native AI platform empowers operators of public transportation services with new insights into how they manage their fleets including factors such as route optimisation analytics; dynamic timetabling; schedule adherence; real time service changes; crowd sensing capacity control; integrated analytics for shared vehicles/shuttles/bicycles amongst many other use cases. Additionally, Optibus also offers personalised trip recommendations for citizens; dynamic journey speed awareness tools to improve
punctuality performance; traveller accessibility modelling tools to support rider journey planning preferences along with monitoring tools for autonomous vehicles/drones – providing a seamless integrated system across modes of transport including bus routes, logistics platforms etc.
With this round of funding secured earlier this year (2020) at $107m., Optibus has already been successfully deployed in several cities worldwide including Paris, London, Sydney etc., making them a key driving factor behind today’s smart city transformation initiatives by allowing them to address transportation challenges from an intelligent end-to-end perspective.
What is cloud-native AI?
Cloud-native AI is a new way of leveraging cloud computing technology to build software applications. These applications use an existing computer network, such as the internet, and utilise machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms to provide intelligent services. Cloud-native AI seeks to minimise the need to purchase or manage infrastructure while allowing developers to leverage the cloud’s power and scalability.
By leveraging the power of the cloud, developers can quickly build sophisticated software applications with minimal effort and cost. Additionally, since cloud-native AI uses distributed computing technology, it can also be used for public transportation tasks. For instance, Optibus is a pioneering company offering cloud-native public transport planning solutions for cities worldwide. Using cloud-native AI capabilities, these solutions offer powerful resources for city planners optimising urban transportation systems in real time with minimal infrastructure costs.
Optibus Success Stories
Optibus is a cloud-native AI that helps cities worldwide revolutionise public transport planning. With over $107 million in funding, Optibus has already been successfully deployed in several cities around the globe.
To uncover the success stories of Optibus, keep reading to learn more about this cloud-native AI solution.
Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel Aviv, Israel is one of the cities worldwide that has successfully implemented cloud-native AI Optibus software to help plan public transport. The software uses artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics to optimise the city’s public transportation system and make it more efficient.
In 2020, Tel Aviv announced a major expansion of its transportation network and unveiled plans to launch a fleet of driverless buses by 2021. In addition, the Tel Aviv municipal government enlisted the help of Optibus, who had already demonstrated success in other cities such as Sao Paulo, Los Angeles and Montreal, to optimise its public transportation plan.
Optibus used AI-driven public transport simulation tools to analyse and improve the efficiency of existing bus timetables. They were able to adjust schedules based on real-time traffic conditions, predicted customer demand and weather patterns to maximise network performance levels.
By 2021, the city plans to introduce 180 autonomous buses into its fleet for fixed routes and on-demand services. It relies heavily on Optibus’ supporting infrastructure for route planning decisions that improve total customer satisfaction while increasing operating efficiency and reducing emissions.
London, UK
In London, Optibus has been instrumental in driving public transport planning improvements within Transport for London (TfL). As a result, the UK’s largest transport provider benefits from the cloud-native AI technology used to optimise their bus services. The collaboration began in 2017 with TfL adopting the Optibus platform to gain insight into their resources and be able to answer questions such as:
-What is the best vehicle fleet size needed for this particular service?
-How many buses would be required for a specific route or during rush hour?
-Where should new routes be introduced?
TfL also uses Optibus planning capabilities to anticipate events and changing passenger volumes while keeping operations within budget. With such insights, TfL has been able to streamline operations and other processes resulting in an average of 10% better utilisation of resources. Further, Optibus works with TfL’s predictive maintenance system, FMoS, helping ensure that vehicles are available at key times and minimising disruption on journeys.
Berlin, Germany
In Berlin, Germany, Optibus provides cloud-native artificial intelligence (AI) technology and advanced planning capabilities to support Berlin’s daily public transportation network. For example, using Optibus, Berlin can analyse and optimise its bus routes to better keep up with changing demand while providing a smoother ride for the passengers.
Optibus was first introduced in 2014 when it provided the Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt (Department of Urban and Environmental Planning) team with a comprehensive overview of the city’s data. This allowed them to accurately calculate vehicle routes, driving times and cost information, drastically improving efficiency throughout the city.
Optibus seamlessly integrated into Berlin’s public transit system including their bus services, trams, subway lines, VRN regional network and even ferry lines. In addition to improving route optimization efficiency for existing lines, Optibus also allowed new private transportation companies to introduce services in cooperation with local authorities. This resulted in greater diversification of trip options for residents travelling within or around the city.
Berlin’s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning recognized that Optibus technology provided them with a comprehensive ability to optimise travel planning while smartly managing operations costs as well as increasing customer satisfaction by reducing waiting times during peak hours or trips taking unreasonably long routes on off-peak hours due to lack of route optimization tools such as those provided by Optibus.
San Francisco, USA
In March 2020, an innovative cloud-native AI platform was deployed in San Francisco. The solution, presented by the development team at Optibus, was created to improve public transport planning. This platform provides valuable geo-spatial insights and helps uncover actionable solutions using big data analytics to assess the performance of transit services.
The Optibus AI platform is used to compare models of existing transit conditions with projected models that leverage a variety of scenarios of how service might be improved – from integration with new technology opportunities to operational changes as well as other measures related to passenger experience, accessibility and capacity enhancement.
Due to its successful implementation in San Francisco, Optibus raised an additional $107 million in June 2020 to further expand and develop its services in various strategic cities worldwide. This investment has strengthened the company’s cloud-native platform and enabled it to rapidly scale up its services even during trying times such as the COVID pandemic which threatened travel plans worldwide. According to its vision “to revolutionise urban mobility through data-driven solutions, ” this support is expected to help Optibus continue delivering better public transport experiences while servicing cities across the developing world.
Optibus Funding
Optibus, a cloud-native AI-powered public transport planning solutions provider, has raised $107 million in a recent round of funding. The round was led by Insight Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures, Pitango Ventures, and Forestay Capital.
This influx of funding will prove invaluable to the company as it works to expand its presence in major cities around the globe.
Overview of the $107m. funding round
Optibus, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider offering cloud-native AI technology for public transport planning, raised USD 107 million in an extended Series C round. Investors like Global Brain, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, NationWide Venture Partners, TPK Holdings, Vertex Ventures and Carmel Ventures provided the funding.
This new investment will help Optibus enable authorities to increase their public transit efficiency and enhance ridership experience while reducing operating expenses and emissions. In addition to this funding being used to further develop the Optibus platform and expand its presence in local markets, it will allow the company to strengthen its customer support structure and hire more professionals.
Optibus has been successfully deployed in more than 50 cities worldwide with their cloud-native AI technology for better decision making within public transit services. Leveraging machine learning for timely predictive analysis of everyday operations allows each city to maximise their use of resources while delivering exemplary service delivery levels. This revolutionary AI platform creates unique digital replicas of current networks by accessing previously siloed data from existing planning solutions. Newer solutions can account for both long-term strategies and shorter-term scenarios that need immediate attention from operating staff or infrastructure changes needed for service expansions or adjustments which can be difficult with traditional systems.
Investors and backers
The round of funding for Optibus was led by Mubadala Investment Company, with participation from Citi Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Verizon Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, 83North and Allianz Group. The $107 million raised will enable Optibus to further develop and upgrade their cloud-native artificial intelligence (AI) platform that streamlines and optimises the planning process for public transportation authorities.
With its world-class roster of investors and backers, Optibus has now raised more than $150 million in venture capital – a testament to investors’ trust in the company’s mission to improve public transportation systems around the globe.
Optibus’s cloud-native AI platform is already being used by some of the largest transport operators on five continents—including London’s Transport for London (TfL), San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Montreal’s Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and Mexico City’s Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC).
Optibus is well placed to help transportation authorities plan better routes for their passengers, using high levels of automation combined with AI optimization. With a data-driven approach that leverages past and real-time performance measurements from service providers, Optibus can accurately anticipate how changes to schedules or services will impact bus demand in specific routes or neighbourhoods. As a result, they can propose modifications that may create better outcomes for both transit authorities and riders alike.
Benefits of Optibus
Optibus is a cloud-native artificial intelligence (AI) platform for public transport planning. It has already been successfully deployed in several cities worldwide, making it easier for cities to plan efficient and cost-effective public transportation.
This article will review the many benefits of using Optibus to plan public transportation.
Increase in efficiency
Optibus is a cloud-native artificial intelligence (AI) platform that streamlines the efficient management of public transport networks. Using modern cloud technology, Optibus enables cities to collect data, plan routes and schedules quickly and accurately on real-time traffic information. This system reduces time spent on voyage planning and scheduling by an average of 70%, leading to increased efficiency in public transit operations.
Optibus enables cities to build various voyage plans and simulations based on their existing network data or uploaded data sets, allowing for optimal route management decisions. Using powerful artificial intelligence algorithms, such as machine learning, Optibus helps cities analyze vast amounts of transit data to determine whether certain routes perform better than others or if particular areas need more buses during certain hours. This level of customization allows transport operators to optimise the efficiency of their service delivery.
At the core of the Optibus’s operational benefits is its 7-step workflow covering planning and scheduling process from start to finish, which improves accuracy and reduces costs associated with traditional methods. These steps include: Demand modelling; Allocating resources; Corridors design; Schedule creation; Rule optimisation; Automation; Performance evaluation & Insights generation. Through this holistic approach, Optibus customers have seen uncompromised levels of engagement while drastically reducing travel time and costs due to optimisation flexibility in creating custom plans. In addition, public transport operators have found valuable insights around predicting demand fluctuations both geographically & temporally which can be used when making decisions around future improvements or expansions depending upon the area’s requirements & needs.
Improved passenger experience
Optibus is a cloud-native AI platform that enables cities, public transportation operators and mobility providers to drive better and more efficient decisions. It enables quicker and more accurate transit planning, enabling cities to deliver a better passenger experience.
Optibus uses AI-driven operations optimization that can accurately plan trips with many route variations, addressing safety, efficiency, equality and ridership growth needs. This helps to improve passenger experience as it can identify delayed trips or wait times due to changes in traffic. In addition, it enables better on-time performance with smart shift scheduling of operators. Optibus also helps reduce energy consumption as its algorithms can generate optimal vehicle paths that increase economic benefits for the organisation and minimise environmental impacts for the community and commuters.
In addition, Optibus provides real-time visibility of all buses in the system through GPS tracking from onboard sensors coupled with analytics from real-time events such as passenger entry/exit points or overcrowded buses which can be addressed immediately. This enables cities to increase service levels by understanding demand across their network and responding quickly should an issue occur during operations. Furthermore, predictive analytics can help anticipate user needs so they are always assured of quality service when using public transit systems running Optibus technology.
Reduced emissions
Utilising Optibus’ cloud-native AI for public transport planning can help reduce emissions significantly by encouraging more efficient travel. The platform’s ability to quickly manage and identify new solutions can reduce emissions, congestion and delays throughout the transportation network.
For instance, Optibus can analyse multiple data sources such as ridership load, routes, and route optimization in real time to minimise energy consumption and maximise speed during public transit operations. This algorithm-based approach helps cities save energy, fuel and lessen their environmental impact from transportation based activities.
Furthermore, its automated processes can reduce idle time for vehicles and optimise existing routes for different service windows; making them environmentally friendly by reducing fuel expenditure across the whole system.
