CitySwift closes €2 million funding round

As announced by the Irish Times, CitySwift has closed a funding round of €2m, bringing our funding to date to €3.5m. 

This latest funding means we can speed up product development and double down on customer success, recruiting more industry experts to support our growing client base. In all, we’re hiring 25 new positions across commercial and technical roles including business development, customer success, product, data science and engineering.

The round was led by Irelandia Investments, Act Venture Capital, Mike McGearty (former CEO of CarTrawler), and other notable Irish transport entrepreneurs. All investors have been involved in both of CitySwift’s funding rounds.

The funding comes hot on the heels of the recent rollout of the CitySwift bus data engine by National Express West Midlands and the launch of Go-Ahead Group’s  innovative When2Travel passenger-facing bus capacity checker that uses AI predictions to show which buses are likely to be busy or have space, on a stop-by-stop basis, up to two weeks in advance.

Our technology has enabled National Express and Go-Ahead to deliver an agile response to social distancing measures and lockdown restrictions being eased – assisting them in planning and reacting to the new normal.

On partnering with us, Andy Foster, Deputy Commercial Director for National Express West Midlands, said, "We decided to roll out the CitySwift platform across our entire network to help network planners and schedulers respond more quickly to changes in demand. CitySwift will help us optimise our network for the short-, medium- and long-term, so we can deliver the best and safest possible service for our customers".

"We decided to roll out the CitySwift platform across our entire network to help network planners and schedulers respond more quickly to changes in demand. CitySwift will help us optimise our network for the short-, medium- and long-term, so we can deliver the best and safest possible service for our customers."

On the launch of When2Travel, Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Go North East, said: "What CitySwift have delivered is a more detailed and comprehensive solution than I had envisaged. I think it could be the most powerful use of big data yet in terms of aiding local bus networks and customer service. That's a bold statement, but we are really excited about it".

"What CitySwift have delivered is a more detailed and comprehensive solution than I had envisaged. I think it could be the most powerful use of big data yet in terms of aiding local bus networks and customer service. That's a bold statement, but we are really excited about it."

Our CEO,  Brian O’Rourke comments, "One thing we’ve come to learn through Covid-19 is just how important data is - whether for businesses trying to operate, governments trying to reopen or individuals trying to understand this pandemic. This has been even more evident for public transport companies as they monitored the effects of lockdown restrictions on their networks and model and plan for future scenarios as restrictions have begun to ease. The CitySwift platform has been leveraged to enable our clients and their passengers to make informed, data-driven decisions as they navigate the road to recovery in these ever-changing times".

"The CitySwift platform has been leveraged to enable our clients and their passengers to make informed, data-driven decisions as they navigate the road to recovery in these ever-changing times."