SME Spotlight: Liftango

In our latest SME Spotlight, Liftango answer some questions about their experiences as part of our most recent Virtual Investment Day. We got in touch with members of the Liftango team to ask them a few questions about their company. Kevin Orr, Co-Founder of Liftango and JJ OBrien, Chief Marketing Officer, shared their story on how they started and the story behind their company, as well as where they are now and how technology is enhancing the world we commute in.

When was the company founded? What services/products do you offer? Who are your clients? 

Liftango was co-founded in 2015 by Kevin Orr and Trystan Eeles in Sydney and now operates in North America and Northern Europe.

Liftango started as a carpool company, working closely with Universities to help solve their parking and transport problems. In early 2017, through invitation, Liftango participated in Transport for New South Wales’ on-demand bus trials—a statewide initiative and global first with 25 trial sites across the state. Through the involvement, Liftango gained experience that has shaped the platform into a market-leading solution.

To this day, Liftango works with a network of agencies, fleet operations and numerous fortune 500 companies across the globe to provide corporate and public shared-transport solutions that minimise the reliance on single-occupancy vehicles and combat climate change by reducing vehicle emissions.

What was the story/idea behind the founding of the company? 

The simple goal behind the conception of Liftango was to reduce the number of cars on the road. Doing so would help remove the frustrations commuters face every day and help employers reduce their environmental impact from vehicles driving to their sites every day.

What makes your company stand out from the crowd? 

We can service all shared-transport programs from carpooling to fixed-to-fully flexible shuttle services to demand-responsive microtransit—our people within the organisation pride themselves on listening, learning and expanding our client’s capabilities. In doing so, we aim to go beyond just a vendor and become a trusted and knowledgeable partner.

What projects to date are you most proud of? 

Coast Connect On-Demand Public Transport Trial, NSW Australia; Coast Connect was the first project that set us on a path to develop our platform as we see it today. The State’s Transport Agency, Transport for New South Wales, invited us to take over the project from the incumbent technology provider at the time and provided less than six weeks to have a working prototype. Since then, we have provided our technology platform for several on-demand, fixed-route and autonomous vehicle projects across APAC, Europe, and North America.

Do you think tech innovation can change the way we live, work and play for better? If yes, how? 

Technology is providing society with many advantages previous generations have not seen. However, we believe that technology should enhance the user experience, not replace it. It will, and has, changed the way we live, (commute to) work and play. Still, it is essential to keep a balanced perspective on all the advantages that are marketed and ensure tech innovations are equitable, solve a real problem, and are sustainable.

Connected Places Catapult’s Virtual Investment Day

Connected Places Catapult’s Virtual Investment Day (VID) supports innovative, investment ready UK SMEs to raise finance. The VID Programme will support UK SMEs to accelerate their commercial growth by providing the opportunity to pitch to investors looking to invest up to £1m, expert hands-on training to help selected companies to refine their pitch, a platform to connect with relevant people from your industry and visionary investors and, membership to the Connected Places Catapult’s SME Network for ongoing support.

We have another upcoming Virtual Investment Day on the 23rd of November. If you are interested in getting involved, please apply here by the 22nd of October.