Startup co-founded by UCT graduates secures USD 1.85 million in funding

WhereIsMyTransport, a technology startup that has its roots in a UCT thesis, has secured funding of USD 1.85 million to expand its digital mapping of formal and informally run public transport networks into new emerging markets.

What started as a student project that performed well in the 2008 global Imagine Cup competition now has data for cities across Africa on the WhereIsMyTransport integrated mobility data platform.

Devin de Vries and Chris King, founders of WhereIsMyTransport, graduated from UCT with bachelor degrees in Business Science: Information Systems in 2007. They were later joined by another UCT graduate, Dave New.

"Don't be afraid to run with ideas. As young people, we have the ability to create change. A simple idea can turn into a solution, a solution to a small business, small business to a scaling startup. It starts with a spark, when it comes, nurture it, expand it, dedicate all your energy to it and most importantly, make it happen," says De Vries.

WhereIsMyTransport is focused on enabling freedom of movement within emerging markets: How do we help people get where they want to go? The platform works to enable cities to connect the various forms of mobility.

The City of Cape Town was where it all started, with an initial platform built for the MyCiti bus system. Since then, the platform has tackled public transport in Gauteng and data collection projects are currently underway in India and Latin America.

WhereIsMyTransport recently received an award for Innovation and Service Transformation from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and an award for Outstanding Achievement in Transport Innovation from the Intelligent Transport Society (ITS). The ITS award recognises startups that use technology to improve public transport service delivery.

WhereIsMyTransport’s platform is an open API which allows people to access the data, thus democratising the data.

Crowded Dala Dala in Dar es Salaam

During an interview at the World Cities Summit in October 2018, De Viries said: “My ideal city is one where people go to public transport as their first resort rather than their last resort and a city that is safe and walkable…. We are bringing attention to the existence of the informally run transport networks that move the majority of people around cities. From our perspective, we are trying to better enable citizens to start to create the change they want to see in their cities.”