UbiRider is a company that was founded with the mission to transform the utilization and management of transportation operations to be simple, elegant, and more accessible. Pulse 2.0 interviewed UbiRider CEO Paulo dos Santos to learn more about the company.
Paulo dos Santos’ Background
What is Paulo dos Santos’ background? Santos said:
“I graduated in computer science applied to management and later on I did a master in innovation and technological entrepreneurship.”
Formation Of UbiRider
How did the idea for the company come together? Santos shared:
“This idea has been in my mind for many years. Back when I was running another startup, my marketing manager—a Dutchman living in Amsterdam who didn’t like cars—had me traveling across several countries using public transit and other forms of collective transport. I found the whole process frustrating: the time spent figuring out the right ticket, paying for it, and constantly repeating the process for each leg of the journey.”
“That’s when I started thinking there had to be a better way, like being able to plan a multimodal trip and pay for all the necessary tickets in a single transaction. It took nearly a decade after that for me to finally start UbiRider. The breakthrough came when I realized that the state-of-the-art technology had reached a point where it was possible to design and implement a scalable, affordable solution for digital and interoperable ticketing systems.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Santos’ favorite memory working for the company so far? Santos reflected:
“The COVID-19 pandemic hit UbiRider hard. Transport operators and agencies weren’t interested in buying any solutions, as they were struggling without passengers and dealing with other challenges. During this time, we focused on developing and refining our product to make it stronger for when the crisis ended. However, since the inception of UbiRider, we’ve believed that contactless bank cards would transform the transport market, making access and payment much more seamless. We built our product with this experience in mind, and the pandemic, with everyone avoiding ticket offices and vending machines, only reinforced our conviction.”
“Knowing it would be tough to find customers during that period, I concentrated on building strategic partnerships. I visited the Mastercard Urban Mobility website and sent a cold message explaining our mission to democratize the use of contactless bank cards in transport. I requested a meeting to explore how Mastercard and UbiRider could work together to scale this vision.”
“One of my fondest memories is receiving an invitation from Mastercard for a video conference with six senior executives to learn more about our solution and discuss potential collaboration. After months of hearing ‘contact me after the pandemic,’ that invite was a bright moment. It marked the start of a strong and lasting partnership with Mastercard that has only grown over time.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Santos explained:
“The UbiRider Platform is a full-stack SaaS solution designed to empower transport and mobility operators with autonomous, streamlined management capabilities for maximum efficiency and fluid passenger experiences through the consolidation of functions and data which are typically fragmented across separate systems, like operations management, fare collection & ticketing, passenger information and financial activities.”
“UbiRider serves essentially:
— Collective Transport: private or public operators of buses, trains, metro, shuttles, taxis, both urban interurban.
— Car-Related Services: parking and tolling, especially focusing on combining these services with collective transport.
— Travelers: mobility-as-a-service app, PICK, to plan multimodal trips, pay the associated fares and, when on trip, be guided with real-time notifications.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Santos and the team face in the sector of work? Santos acknowledged:
“The biggest challenge we faced was the pandemic, which caused a real mobility crisis as people stayed home for extended periods and were hesitant to use public transit. Fortunately, our sole investor at the time believed in the long-term value of our technology and provided financial support to help us pass the storm.”
“At UbiRider, we also saw the pandemic as a turning point. Transport providers began to realize that their systems, heavily reliant on hardware and rigid software, were difficult to manage and dependent on ticket offices and vending machines – things passengers have wanted to avoid. This shift made them more open to considering solutions like the UbiRider Platform, which requires minimal hardware, mostly standard smartphones, and is powered by robust mobile and cloud-based software that can be operated remotely. It also enables riders to use what they already have – contactless bank cards and smartphones – to access and pay for transport, making the entire process smoother and safer.”
Evolution Of UbiRider’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Santos noted:
“The UbiRider Platform was launched with a highly reliable version, but real-world deployments always bring unforeseen challenges and opportunities. Since then, we’ve been continuously improving the platform to make it more valuable for our customers and to be able to deploy it faster and simpler than any alternative, reducing the cost and complexity for operators to access this powerful management tool.”
“Additionally, we’ve integrated Mastercard Cloud Commerce to offer an innovative and affordable solution for open-loop payments using contactless bank cards. This is the cutting-edge of transport seamlessness, but up until now, it has only been accessible to large cities or agencies with the resources to manage the high investment. Our solution makes it available to transport operations of any size, democratizing access to this advanced technology.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Santos cited:
“Getting the first customers for innovative products is always challenging and slow. While customers seek added value, being the first to adopt a new solution is often seen as risky due to concerns about reliability. Transport operators, our main target, tend to be especially conservative, as they bear the responsibility of providing a service riders can depend on.”
“Our most significant milestone came in July 2022 when we deployed with our first customer. The second followed in 2023, and by the end of this year, we will have nine operators using our platform.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Santos about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“The CEO of our first customer also oversees nearly all transport operations in the largest Portuguese region. He’s been so pleased with the results of our platform that he’s gradually contracting us for all the other operations as their agreements with previous suppliers expire.”
Funding
When asking Santos about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“UbiRider has achieved remarkable success with the resources invested so far – less than 3 million euros – despite the two-year impact of the pandemic. This year marks the beginning of our growth phase, with our monthly recurring revenue set to quadruple from January to December. Next year, our growth will accelerate even further with the closing of several international contracts.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Santos assessed:
“UbiRider operates at the intersection of Transport Management Systems and Transport Payment Solutions, tapping into a combined market opportunity of over $30 billion, growing at an annual rate of more than 11%. This growth is driven by the transformation of transport operations and cities in response to the pressure of a constantly growing urban population.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Santos affirmed:
“The UbiRider Platform is the most comprehensive, affordable, and powerful solution on the market for managing transport operations and implementing contactless and digital payments, the most seamless way to access transport services.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Santos pointed out:
“UbiRider is beginning its international expansion, actively pursuing exciting opportunities in Europe and Latin America. Our goal is to establish a strong foothold in these markets and further explore the US market, which we believe will see significant investment in improving mobility alternatives to cars, as congestion reaches unsustainable levels.”
“In terms of product development, we plan to expand the UbiRider Platform to include management solutions for car-related services, such as taxis and parking, because we believe we can create value in the smooth transitions between parking and riding.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Santos concluded:
“We are currently seeking a bridge investment to help us stay focused on executing our market and product goals, in preparation for a formal investment round planned for the second half of 2025.”
