The launch of PassageWay
At the beginning of October 2018, Chris Johns (principal consultant at The Difference) announced the launch of PassageWay. Chris is the principal investor and founder of PassageWay, a SaaS platform that transforms any Internet-connected screen into a local wayfinding point, displaying real time transit information and mapping. Whilst Chris will dedicate much of his time to PassageWay he will still undertake consultancy work on an ad hoc basis for clients with interesting projects via The Difference.
Below is a short press release discussing the rationale behind PassageWay:
Whilst Londons continued popularity as one of the greatest cities on the globe for people to live, raise a family and work continues to attract a significant influx, the capital is a victim of its own success. With a population currently topping 8.8 million and predicted to surge by 10% to 9.5 million by 2026, recent data shows London is Europes' second most congested city (behind Moscow). Our Capital faces huge and growing pressure on its infrastructure to keep the city moving.
Private car usage is Londons leading cause of congestion, pollution and frustration accounting for nearly 40% of all journeys, with around 30% of these being for less than 2KM. However, bold efforts are afoot from both public and commercial operators encouraging people to ditch their cars. Alongside Transport for London's omnipresent bus, bike, train, tram, tube and boat options there are numerous eBikes, Car-share, Ride-Hailing and coming soon eScooter operators, vying to commercialise mass transit. The problem though is that with so many options, people often don't know what's available to them within their immediate vicinity.
'PassageWay', from Wandsworth start-up Digital Signs For Transport Ltd, aims to solve this problem. Their software transforms any Internet-connected screen into a local wayfinding point, displaying all the nearby transit options in real-time alongside mapping information.
The business, based in Wandsworth, south London, has evolved from developing software for Transport for London, the worlds' largest integrated transport network.
Chris Johns, Founder Quote:
'Working with Transport for London we've launched PassageWay to empower organisations to have their very own real-time wayfinding point. PassageWay signs display local data to within a few meters of any location, so they really are tailored to a very specific location. Right now we're displaying real-time TfL data for the entirety of Londons' network and onboarding commercial operators as quickly as we can before we roll out to other cities.'
With so many transit options available it's incredibly difficult for people to know everything that's available at a very local level; Where are the bus stops? When is the next bus, train, tram or boat? Are there any travel alerts? How many bikes are available, are there any shared rides leaving soon? How many ride-hailing vehicles are available locally or is it easier to just walk? All too often, simply because people aren't aware a transit option exists, they revert to their car.
Passageway helps Londoners, be they customers, students, staff, patients, visitors or clients, navigate to their next destination smoothly, and can help rapidly disperse the crowds that stadiums, shopping centres and major event destinations experience by sharing all the transit options, whilst simultaneously helping to reduce pollution and congestion.
As the physical and digital worlds converge, peoples' interaction with our towns and cities is fundamentally changing. We believe real-time, street-level navigation will soon be commonplace across our urban landscape. We, like our partners, share a vision of London as a great modern capital of the world; a smart, sustainable City, with clean air, engaged citizens and with a transit infrastructure that supports everyone.'
