From ride-hailing to mobility platform: Uber Transit's vision in our interview with Global Head Dmitriy Vanchugov - Sustainable Bus

"When you think of public transport, you picture a bus, a tram, or a metro. When you think of Uber, you imagine a car-or at most, an app. These mental associations are understandable, but they're also limiting. Public transport is evolving: transit agencies are increasingly integrating on-demand services. offering routes with smaller vehicles. At the same time, Uber has been expanding its role in urban mobility through Uber Transit, officially launched in 2015."

"Dmitriy Vanchugov, Uber Transit: complementing mass transport Can you start by explaining how the Uber Transit team is structured within the broader company? The transit team is a B2G organization of about 30 people. Most of us come from the public transport industry - either from agencies, operators, or, like me, from transport technology. We built this team to work with agencies and operators as a complement to the core transport network."

Public transport mental images of buses and metros limit thinking about mobility solutions. Transit agencies are integrating on-demand services and offering routes with smaller vehicles to increase flexibility. Uber Transit began in 2015 by integrating schedules and fare information and has expanded into partnerships that provide on-demand mobility solutions alongside mass transit. The stated mission is to make private cars unnecessary by combining public transport strengths with Uber's on-demand convenience to compete on cost and convenience. The Uber Transit team is a B2G unit of about 30 people drawn largely from public transport and transport technology, built to contract with agencies and operators as a complementary layer to core networks.

Read at Sustainable Bus