Mercedes-Benz Vans sets up on-demand shuttle service JV with US start-up Via

Mercedes-Benz Vans is investing US$50 million in new joint venture with US start-up Via to bring Via’s on-demand shuttle service, already launched in New York, Chicago and Washington DC, to Europe. The service will launch in London this year. The joint venture will also partner with public transit operators across Europe, licensing Via’s on-demand shuttle operating System to enable cities to significantly improve mobility while reducing congestion without incurring any additional infrastructure costs.
September 6, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

1685 Mercedes-Benz Vans is investing US$50 million in new joint venture with US start-up Via to bring Via’s on-demand shuttle service, already launched in New York, Chicago and Washington DC, to Europe.

The service will launch in London this year. The joint venture will also partner with public transit operators across Europe, licensing Via’s on-demand shuttle operating System to enable cities to significantly improve mobility while reducing congestion without incurring any additional infrastructure costs.

Via has focused on developing, from the ground up, a scalable and on-demand shared ride solution. The intelligent Via algorithm supports smart public transport, enabling a dynamic mass transit system that reduces traffic volume in urban areas. The fusion of Via’s technology with the engineering of Mercedes-Benz Vans provides the basis for efficient, affordable and sustainable ride-sharing.

The long term strategic cooperation aims to design and build vans optimised for on-demand shared rides, including integration of Via’s software with on-board vehicle sensors, electric drive and autonomous driving.

Parking & Access Control

Related Content

  • April 15, 2021
    €10.9m grant kick-starts German AV project
    Government-backed Kelride seeks to integrate autonomous vehicles into public transport
    Read More
  • June 25, 2018
    US Cities push for smarter poles
    US Cities The need to connect existing infrastructure has led various US transit authorities into imaginative alleyways: David Crawford examines some new roles for street furniture. US cities are vying with each other in developing schemes to create a new generation of connected places. Their strategies include taking advantage of their streetlight poles’ height and ubiquity to give them new roles in supporting intelligent nodes. They are now being equipped for collecting real-time data on key transport
    Read More
  • May 24, 2021
    AlphaStruxure to provide e-bus microgrid
    Energy as a Service project aims to cut emissions in Montgomery County, Maryland
    Read More
  • July 28, 2016
    Ford, MIT project measures pedestrian traffic, predict demand for electric shuttles
    Ford Motor Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are collaborating on a new research project that measures how pedestrians move in urban areas to improve certain public transportation services, such as ride-hailing and point-to-point shuttles services. The project will introduce a fleet of on-demand electric vehicle shuttles that operate on both city roads and campus walkways on the university’s campus. The vehicles use LiDAR sensors and cameras to measure pedestrian flow, which ultimate
    Read More

Highlighted Content