Uber announced that it will acquire Routematch, an Atlanta-based company that develops software for public transportation agencies. The news comes amid the ride-hail company’s broader push into public transit. Uber didn’t disclose the terms of the deal. Routematch, which was founded in 2000, sells software to public transit agencies for data management, dispatching, trip booking, and ticketing. Uber said the acquisition will help bolster its own efforts to integrate more public transportation services in its app, like route planning and ticket purchases.
Over the years, Uber has been accused of directly competing with and poaching riders from subways, trains, and buses. Declining bus and subway ridership has been pegged to the rise of app-based ride-hailing in dozens of cities across the US. Recently, Uber has added transit directions and ticketing to its app in some cities, in the hopes that by giving transit equal footing in its app it can blunt that criticism.
Last year, Uber announced it would begin selling train and bus tickets through its app for customers in Denver, Colorado. Since then, the company has integrated public transportation schedules and directions into its app for over a dozen other cities. Less than a year later, Uber says that “over 2 million riders” have tried Uber Transit.