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Transit Acquisition Connects Agency Tech With Passenger Tech

New York's Via has acquired U.K.-based Citymapper. The deal will integrate the software transit agencies use to plan routes with the tools their passengers rely on to plan trips across the world.

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Credit: Via
JOSE R MARQUEZ
Via, a global software company that helps cities plan transit routes, has acquired a company that helps passengers figure out their own trips.

Fresh off a $110 million investment round last month, Via has bought out U.K.-based Citymapper for its trip-planning technology. The company will integrate Citymapper into its own platform, connecting the very tools that cities use to plan transit routes with the passengers who need to navigate those routes.

Both companies already have wide reach, but Via is bigger — according to a press release, Via operates in about 600 communities, while Citymapper is in more than 100. Via will seek to expand Citymapper’s reach.

“The team at Citymapper has spent a decade building some of the greatest technology in urban mobility, with the mission to make cities easier to navigate and urban transportation more efficient, sustainable and accessible,” Citymapper founder and CEO Azmat Yusuf said in the statement. “We share this vision with Via, and through this acquisition, can expand Citymapper to a larger audience, make our technology available to cities and transit agencies, and extend the positive impact on the communities we serve.”

The acquisition follows Via’s buyout of Remix in 2021 and Fleetonomy in 2020. The New York-based firm was valued at $3.5 billion in its last investment round, making it one of a few gov tech “unicorns.”