Startup BusRight has announced it has raised a $7 million Series A funding round led by Las Olas Venture Capital. BusRight said it will use the capital to double its employee headcount, accelerate product development and expand its customer base among U.S. K-12 education transportation systems.
BusRight says that school buses represent the largest mass transit system in the U.S., with an estimated 480,000 buses transporting more than 26 million students daily. In 2018 alone, public spending on student transportation topped nearly $30 billion, the company said.
The company says it provides value to K-12 schools through better bus routes, communication and safety. Bus drivers, who the company says are quitting in record rates, can use its app to optimize routes, use turn-by-turn navigation and real-time bus tracking. Parents can receive updated alerts on where their children are and obtain updated bus schedules, the company said.
“With traditional navigation designed only for cars and drivers prohibited from using mobile phones, routes must be memorized, which burdens drivers and offers little insight into where students are,” said Keith Corso, CEO and co-founder, who launched the company while a student at Northeastern University.
BusRight’s technology includes routing software, real-time GPS, dynamic driver navigation via military-grade tablets and a bus tracking app for parents. Instead of interfacing with multiple vendors to tackle routing, location and communication, BusRight says it provides one centralized platform and a personal concierge for every customer.
Additional investors include prior round lead Ubiquity Ventures, Underscore VC, Long Journey Ventures, SilverCircle, Automotive Ventures, Alumni Ventures, CreativeCo Capital, and “several prominent angel investors,” the company said. Founding partner at Las Olas Venture Capital, Mark Volchek, will also join the company’s board of directors.
