A Dialog with Daniel Ramot, CEO of Via Transportation

Why It Matters

Via’s model proves that sophisticated, vertically integrated transit software can deliver rapid ridership growth and durable municipal contracts, creating a new, high‑margin investment class while expanding equitable mobility for urban residents.

Key Takeaways

• Public transit tech seen as laggard; Via proves otherwise.
• Investors need education to see value in municipal transit contracts.
• Via’s vertical software yields high customer retention and low acquisition cost.
• Microtransit can double ridership in small cities with same budget.
• Community engagement and multimodal access essential for successful rollout.

Summary

In a MIT Mobility Forum session, Via Transportation CEO Daniel Ramot outlined how his company is reshaping public‑transit perception from a technology laggard to a high‑growth, investor‑friendly sector. He traced Via’s 14‑year journey from a Stanford‑spun‑out to a publicly listed firm, emphasizing the unique challenges of selling software to municipal transit agencies and the need to educate both investors and city officials about the scale of government‑spending opportunities. Ramot highlighted several market dynamics: the procurement process is highly specific, demanding vertical, customizable solutions; once a city signs on, the relationship becomes exceptionally sticky, delivering high retention rates and low sales‑and‑marketing spend. Via’s platform integrates micro‑transit, fixed‑route buses, and paratransit into a single, data‑driven system, allowing cross‑selling of additional services while maintaining rigorous delivery promises to preserve trust. Concrete examples illustrate the impact. In Wilson, North Carolina, Via replaced the entire bus fleet with dynamically routed shuttles, doubling ridership without increasing the budget. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a hybrid model retained core bus corridors while layering micro‑transit, boosting ridership by roughly 50% in under two years. Ramot stressed that community outreach—door‑to‑door meetings, senior‑center visits, multilingual call centers, and digital campaigns—ensures vulnerable riders transition smoothly and that the service remains accessible to non‑smartphone users. The broader implication is that technology can unlock efficiency and growth in traditionally stagnant public‑transit markets, offering investors a stable, long‑term revenue stream and cities a pathway to higher mobility, reduced congestion, and better equity outcomes. Via’s success suggests a replicable blueprint for other transit tech firms seeking to scale across the 10,000‑plus municipalities worldwide.

Original Description

Via provides a platform of software and technology-enabled services that transforms public transportation systems into smart, data-driven, AI-powered digital networks. Since its founding in 2012, Via has grown to serve hundreds of cities across more than 30 countries, powering microtransit, paratransit, school bus, transit planning, and autonomous vehicle networks. The company went public on the NYSE in 2025, and recently launched Via AI Labs to pursue broader efficiency solutions for local governments. In this fireside chat, Daniel will discuss the lessons learned from building Via, the role of AI in the next generation of public transit, and how cities can leverage technology to deliver more equitable, efficient, and sustainable mobility. This session will explore:

1. From startup to public company: building the TransitTech category and powering B2G service as a publicly traded company

2. Microtransit debate: can on-demand transit scale to meet the needs of growing cities, and what role does it play alongside fixed-route systems?

3. AI and the future of transit: how Via is using artificial intelligence to reshape planning, scheduling, and real-time decision-making for cities

4. How AI is changing Via itself?