Spare expands in Norway, launching a new service on Election Day in Kongsberg

September 9, 2019 (Kongsberg, Norway) — Spare, a world leader in on-demand transportation services, today launched a new on-demand public transit service with Brakar, a leading public transit agency in Norway. The service follows the success of other on-demand transit services launched across the country with Spare and shows how people have increasing demand for innovative, on-demand transportation services. The project was made possible through a partnership between Brakar, Kolumbus, Spare, and Geta.

Spare launched the first on-demand transit service in Scandinavia in summer 2018, called “HentMeg” - roughly translated to "Pick Me Up". The service was launched in Sauda, a town in western Norway, in partnership with Kolumbus, a leading public transit agency based in Stavanger. HentMeg quickly became a success for the residents of Sauda, with cities around the nation looking to replicate the service.

“We love to see the impact that improving transit access can have for cities around Norway”, said Kristoffer Vik Hansen, co-founder and CEO of Spare. “Cities all around the world are looking for mobility solutions that improve the customer experience while increasing ridership and expanding coverage. Spare Platform does exactly that and we’re excited for Brakar to join this movement to provide a better transit experience and increased transit coverage to the residents of Kongsberg.”

HentMeg in Kongsberg marks the third expansion in Norway for the HentMeg partnership. The service is aimed to provide passengers in the Vibehaugen-Raumyr and Kapermoen areas a more flexible solution compared to their usual four on-call departures each day. Passengers can now book on-demand trips between these areas, providing residents of Kongsberg with far superior transit coverage than they had previously. Brakar plans on expanding the service to include two new areas in 2020/2021.

Commuters can use the new service by going to https://hentmeg.no and effortlessly booking rides in seconds. Spare’s advanced algorithms dynamically match riders in real time, enabling multiple riders to share a single vehicle while maximizing overall system efficiency. Spare Engine, the proprietary neural core of Spare Platform, automatically directs passengers to a nearby virtual bus stop, enabling efficient shared rides without any lengthy detours.

To find out more about how Spare powers on-demand transportation of any type or size, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at hello@sparelabs.com.