Nov 30, 2021
Spare: A Company to Route For
Spare raises Series A to build the world’s first mobility operating system
It’s been a newsy November at Ridge Ventures, and we still have a day to spare!
What better time to announce our investment in — you guessed it — Spare, a flexible and efficient operating platform for mobility providers. Two years removed from its seed round led by Mitsubishi Corporation, we’re revved up to back Spare’s Series A, led by our friends at Inovia Capital, and fuel positive experiences for passengers, drivers, and transit managers across the globe.
A significant number of microtransit, paratransit, ride-hailing, and NEMT (non-emergency medical transportation) services face a nagging issue: their software is nothing to ride home about.
Public transit networks run on legacy software dating back to the Clinton administration: DOS-based systems lacking automation, API accessibility, and app integration capabilities. With budgets tighter than a tangled seatbelt, public providers are itching for a more efficient and cost-effective means of operating. On the private side, many emerging mobility providers are entering the fray but desperately need an infrastructural tune-up to keep up with competitors.
Spare remedies all of the above problems — and a lot more. Amid the pandemic, which depleted ridership, increased costs associated with COVID-19 safety and cleaning protocols, and left passengers with fewer transportation options, companies like Earth, Citibus, and Dart count on Spare to circumvent their slashed budgets and unburden the rider’s journey from point A to point B. Here is how Spare’s comprehensive suite of tools drives efficiency and prevents operational snafus:
- Spare Launch: Everything a customer needs in one platform. Automates transport operations via Spare’s multimodal mobility network and creates a user-friendly interface for riders and drivers.
- Spare Realize: Microtransit planning made easy. Simulates different microtransit scenarios so customers can make sound, data-backed decisions.
- Spare Analyze: Big data, big insights. Real-time data enables up-to-the-minute adjustments and easy reporting to stakeholders.
- Spare Engage: Streamlined paratransit eligibility. A centralized database automates the eligibility process and helps evaluate ADA and driver applications faster.
Engineering brainiacs — and self-proclaimed mobility nerds — Kristoffer Vik Hansen (CEO), Josh Andrews (COO), and Alexey Indeev (CTO) comprise the Spare founding team. The trio started working on Spare as students at The University of British Columbia and the company’s been cruising ever since. Spare works with the likes of Toyota, Volvo, and Mitsubishi; serves customers across four continents; and continues to beef up its software through product updates and partnerships.
Aside from Spare’s product, team, and traction, we’re excited about the sizable market it inhabits. Public transit accounts for nearly 10 billion rides per year in the US, a number that tracks similarly in Europe and Asia. The market for private operators, i.e. ridesharing companies, is worth $60 billion and expects to hit $220 billion by 2025. It’s more concentrated in the private sector, but there’s a good chance Spare capitalizes as behemoths like Uber, Lyft, and Didi butt heads and new rideshare competitors join the race.
Downstream, Spare may be a driving force behind public transportation, or the infrastructure layer for the next generation of private mobility providers. Neither would be a surprising outcome. What’s certain is this: Spare is going places, and that means less transit operators are going crazy and more riders are going where they need to, faster.
Read more about Spare’s funding announcement here. Interested in joining the Spare team? Check out their open positions.
