#State spending on masstransit drivers
In fact, APTA found that 92 percent of transit agencies are having problems with hiring, with bus drivers being the hardest jobs to fill. Ridership also grew when college students returned to classes last fall, though new COVID variants - which kept riders and transit workers at home - and the ongoing labor shortage also can serve to dampen use of mass transit.
Ridership fell to 20 percent of pre-pandemic levels in April 2020, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), but has since recovered to “slightly more than 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” with that growth determined by the health of local economies, service delivery and reliability, as well as other factors. No matter the significance of the Optibus unicorn status, its new capital and the attention it is receiving - $260 million total thus far - comes at a vital, perhaps existential time for mass transit, especially in the United States. While Optibus can enjoy the pride that comes from being a unicorn, it’s not as rare as it once was, and might not even qualify as massive news anymore, given those recent trends, Cook said. Other unicorns in the government technology space include Tyler Technologies, Granicus, Mark 43 and OpenGov, according to industry experts and financial sources.Īccording to Cook, the industry is maturing and has more larger businesses than was the case five years ago consolidations have helped tech providers scale more quickly and variation multiples “grew meaningfully last year, and so high valuation multiples on a larger base of revenues created a perfect storm of sorts to establish a class of unicorns last year.” The gov tech industry continues to attract investors - drawn to the sector for a variety of reasons, including as a hedge against recession - and experience big mergers and acquisitions.Īt least nine private gov tech firms have become unicorns since the start of 2021, according to Jeff Cook, managing director at Shea & Co., an investment bank that has advised in more than 20 gov tech deals in the past five years. “Optibus brings to investors a unique message about why public and mass transit should be on their radar, and not just financial services, cryptocurrency and cybersecurity, which are more common industries among unicorns.” “The fact that Optibus has reached such a status shows that a critical mass of public-sector players trust and believe in our product and mission, and that we are able to direct a significant amount of private investment toward public services and the mitigation of industry challenges,” said Amos Haggiag, CEO and co-founder of Optibus, in an email interview with Government Technology.
#State spending on masstransit upgrade
Optibus said it was the first public transportation firm to become a unicorn.Ĭompany leadership says that status matters as transit agencies around the world and in North America - where Optibus is expanding - strive to upgrade software recruit, retain and deploy workers via the use of new technology explore the use of artificial intelligence and win back riders in this new environment of remote work.
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