Transportation
Spare fixes cities’ outdated transport services for disabled residents
Rebecca Bellan
7:04 AM PDT • September 10, 2024
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Image Credits: Spare
Cities spend hundreds of millions each year on paratransit services, or public rides for disabled residents, yet those services remain limited and unpredictable. Wheelchair users often face late pickups, hindering them from getting to work or medical appointments on time. As populations age, the strain on these services and city budgets continues to grow.
Vancouver-based startup Spare says it can apply modern technology to improve cities’ paratransit systems and bring more on-demand services to the mix. Its software-as-a-service platform integrates different types of local transportation services — including wheelchair-accessible paratransit services, local on-demand microtransit operators, and even ride-hail like Uber and Lyft — to match riders with the right service and vehicle operators for their needs.
“So if, for example, you have a temporary disability, but you’re fine with using an Uber, then maybe instead of sending a big wheelchair-accessible vehicle with a highly trained driver, we can send you an Uber,” Kristoffer Vik Hansen, Spare’s CEO, told TechCrunch. “You still pay the same cost, but the cost to the transit agency would be much lower. And that’s where [...]