CitySwift is driving the future of public transport using AI-powered analytics.
Data intelligence for transport business CitySwift has raised €7m in a funding round led by Gresham House Ventures.
The round also included all existing investors following including Irelandia Investments, the Western Development Commission and ACT Venture Capital with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
“Public transport services have to be reliable and efficient to drive passenger growth, and key to this is leveraging AI and data to ensure the transport networks of the future meet ever-changing customer needs”
CitySwift is an intelligent transport data platform that increases the performance of public transport networks using AI-powered analytics, simulations and optimisations.
Ticket to ride
Based in Galway, CitySwift works with public sector transport authorities and private bus operators to break down the barriers to accessing and interpreting transport data. CitySwift’s platform aggregates, cleans and enriches data from hundreds of sources, providing both operators and authorities with an accurate single source of truth.
CitySwift’s customer base has grown by 150% in the last 12 months, covering transport networks in all of the major UK cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast, and the entire country of Wales.
Notable clients include National Express, Go-Ahead Group, Transport for Wales, Metroline, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Translink and Blackpool Transport.
With current trends in hybrid working and leisure travel levels increasing, cities are looking to become more agile in their operations to ensure passengers can access fit-for-purpose, convenient transport services. Rapid access to accurate data across the entire network fuels this collaboration, enabling both parties to take a more dynamic, data-driven approach to move passengers away from private modes of transport to more sustainable, climate-friendly public transportation.
“Public transport services have to be reliable and efficient to drive passenger growth, and key to this is leveraging AI and data to ensure the transport networks of the future meet ever-changing customer needs,” said CitySwift co-founder and CEO Brian O’Rourke.
“This investment is a massive vote of confidence in CitySwift’s platform and people. It will support us in expanding our team so we can continue to deliver the best transport data product and service for both authorities and operators, further positioning CitySwift as the catalyst for growing demand for public transport.”
The investment will be used to accelerate CitySwift’s growth, with the company planning to double headcount in the next two years. Additionally, these funds will go towards enabling CitySwift to further scale its platform development and end-to-end client services, securing the company’s reputation as the leading transportation data innovators in the Irish and global markets.
“CitySwift’s growth in recent years has been impressive, and the team’s knowledge of both bus networks and data science makes this a compelling and unique proposition,” said Benjamin Faulkner, associate director at Gresham House Ventures.
“With our experience working with other transport and mobility data businesses, we look forward to supporting CitySwift as it continues to deliver real-world benefits for transport passengers across the UK, Ireland and global markets over the coming years.”
Main image at top: CitySwift founders Alan Farrelly and Brian O’Rourke
