Next up on stage is a duo that is rare to see working together: A mobility startup and a public transportation provider:
Chris Snyder is the SVP Expansion at Via & CEO ViaVan. Via is known for offering rideshares as an addition to the public transportation.
Henrik Haenecke is CFO & CDO at the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), the Berlin public transportation provider.
„People are sitting a ton of their time in cars, being stuck in traffic“, opens Synder.
„Public transport has a huge potential to solve this problem. But in doing so it has to improve.“ Via is building technologies in order to achieve exactly that.
Haenecke from the BVG explains why they were collaborating with the startup company.
„We have 1.1bn customers per year, we are usually not the company to go very fast because we want to do things 100 percent.“ But a few years ago, the BVG started a campaign with the slogan „Berlin we loves you“. The answer from the public was harsh: „We do not love you, because you’re always late.“ This campaign and it’s reactions have changed the way the BVG operates. The new mission is to provide, develop and integrate mobility services for Berlin.
With BerlKönig ViaVan and the BVG collaborate to provide a shared riding experiences for the inner city. Customers now can use the vans at night instead of calling a cab.
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