Tritech Media buys into GoMetro

4Decades Capital (representing former Rand Merchant Bank CEO Mike Pfaff and chief investment officer Derek Prout-Jones), AngelHub Ventures (representing former First National Bank CEO Michael Jordaan) and the founders hold the balance of shares in GoMetro.

GoMetro’s proprietary Flexible Mobility Platform simplifies transport operations on public and semi-public transport services, within a specific geographic footprint. GoMetro has forged strong working relationships with city governments across South Africa to modernise and digitise public transport networks and bring minibus taxis into the formal transport market through its GoMetro Pro big data-mapping platform for municipal transport management.

Municipal investment in this core data infrastructure would allow a specific node, such as Sandton to fight congestion by having navigation, traffic alerts, train timetables, bus stop location, ride-hailing, ride-sharing and cycling options all in one app. By collaborating with local businesses and brands, the app further provides relevant and valuable offers to commuters on their way to work or home. Its mobile transport information and ticketing technology has been used by consumers in some 200,000 trips across South Africa with around two million unique browsers to date.

Local based advertising

A commuter’s daily commuting update and ticket check-in app is paired with location-based and contextual advertising to provide a unique channel for brands to access on-the-go consumers, reaching demographic- and location-targeted users with relevant and timely offers for commuters, based on location, travel patterns and demographics.

Brands such as MTN, Burger King, Lunchbar, African Bank, Shoprite and FNB have all used GoMetro’s location-based advertising engine repeatedly to reach commuters in trains, buses and minibus taxis, and experienced up to a four-fold increase in campaign performance when using GoMetro’s location and movement-aware advertising engine.

Kirsh commented, “This is a strategic acquisition for our group. Our aim is to cover where the consumers are in their daily life, and then to position precise and relevant brand advertising and communications based on their location. Through our recent acquisitions of Ionizr, ProximityID and Geospatial Data Solutions, incorporating satellite enabled Spatialedge, we have built a strong presence in and around shopping centres.

“GoMetro now gives us the opportunity to cover the majority of consumers across South Africa through their commuting experience. Our solution capability for brands to engage precisely with consumers is now unparalleled in South Africa. GoMetro’s technology is world-class and, with this pedigree, the objective is to expand into other emerging markets, with Nairobi currently being mapped.”

Three data sets for marketers

The combination of the GoMetro mobile app and big data engine produces three highly-unique, deep datasets for marketers to access:
a confirmed record of where users live and work, confirmed by the app
a daily record of when, where and how users want to move around (both in real-time and through machine learning
an accurate and updated record of all transport routes and operations within a city, both public and private, and their respective costs and charges

Mobile ticketing to launch

GoMetro was recognised in 2014 by the Global Mobile Forum in San Francisco as the ‘Best Innovation in a Growth Market’ and is the official national mobile application for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

The company is now working with PRASA on the national rail network, as well as with several bus companies in South Africa to launch mobile ticketing and passenger information services for each service. GoMetro is also engaged in mapping taxi networks in Cape Town, East London, Mbombela, Pretoria and Rustenburg in preparation for mobile payments for South Africa’s 100,000 minibus taxis – a R10 billion industry.

Justin Coetzee CEO of GoMetro concluded, “We all have places to get to and it is getting harder and harder to move around our growing cities. GoMetro is making moving around easier for people travelling to work or school with our merger of traffic and public transport data through our proprietary algorithms and mapping solutions for the two million unique browsers on GoMetro.

“Making paying for transport easy and seamless on your phone is the next part of our journey. Being part of Tritech Media gives us access to leading proprietary technology and market-share to deliver transport transaction solutions with corporate precise communications to a growing market,” concludes Coetzee.