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city spend hundreds of millions each year on paratransit services , or public rides for handicapped residents , yet those service remain limited and irregular . Wheelchair users often face late pickups , handicap them from getting to body of work or medical appointments on time . As populations age , the strain on these services and city budgets continues to grow .
Vancouver - found startupSparesays it can apply modern technology to improve metropolis ’ paratransit systems and bring more on - demand service to the intermixture . Its software - as - a - service chopine integrates different eccentric of local expatriation services — including wheelchair - approachable paratransit services , local on - requirement microtransit operator , and even ride - hail like Uber and Lyft — to match riders with the right-hand divine service and vehicle operators for their needs .
“ So if , for model , you have a irregular disablement , but you ’re fine with using an Uber , then maybe rather of sending a big wheelchair - accessible fomite with a highly cultivate driver , we can send you an Uber , ” Kristoffer Vik Hansen , Spare ’s chief executive officer , tell TechCrunch . “ You still pay the same cost , but the toll to the transit agency would be much lower . And that ’s where the secret sauce comes in . ”
Vik Hansen take note that many metropolis endure paratransit services “ extremely inefficiently with super legacy technology , like 20- to 30 - year - honest-to-goodness package , ” making them “ extremely expensive to operate . ”
He steer to New York City ’s paratransit military service as one of the most expensive in the nation . TheMTA spent $ 517 millionon paratransit services in 2023 , up from $ 412 million in 2022 .
“ We started Spare to build an mental process organization that transit agency and cities can use to make their own transit systems much well for everyone , whether that ’s their back - office staff , their drivers or their riders , ” Vik Hansen say . “ But also slim the monetary value of providing those service . ”
The chief operating officer also noted that Spare ’s AI uses historical tripper information , driver carrying out and real - time traffic perceptiveness from Google to create more efficient routes and allow for for more on - demand paratransit services .
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The startup ’s main challenger isVia . Sinceacquiring Remix in 2021 , Via expanded from an on - requirement microtransit operator to a transit technical school company that provides urban center and agency with everything from the back - end software to lead passage servicing and rider- and number one wood - front practical software , to information and preparation tools to better subsist system .
By focusing its attention on paratransit , Spare has been able to carve a niche for itself and get its foot in the door of major cities . While Via ’s software is deployed in 750 city across 40 countries , according to a Via spokesperson , it offers paratransit integration in only 100 of them . Spare ’s software is present in over 200 cities in North America , Europe and Japan , including Austin , Dallas , the Bay Area , Stockholm , and Osaka . Its focus in those city is paratransit , but Vik Hansen says Spare also has a prosperous microtransit offering and is exploring ways to incorporate non - emergency aesculapian and school transportation services .
The company ’s technology and approach have garnered the care of investors who need to see bare scale into raw verticals and geographical regions . The company enkindle a $ 30 million ( $ 42 million CAD ) Series B round moderate by Inovia Capital , with participation from Kensington Capital and Nicola Wealth , TechCrunch has exclusively memorise .
“ As early friend from the Series A round , we ’ve seen Spare evolve from a promising startup to a key histrion in the transit blank space , ” Dylan Freeze , director at Kensington Capital , say in a statement . “ With this young financial support , we ’re eager to see Spare labour further innovation and empower more transit agencies to render flexible , efficient , and innovative table service . ”
