The Milan based start-up Wayla and ioki, the European market leader for on-demand mobility from Deutsche Bahn, are joining forces. They are bringing a new mobility service to Milan in autumn: the flexible shuttle service will be active between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., offering a convenient and reliable transport option until late at night.
Flexible through the night
At the start of the service, five vehicles, each with 14 seats, will circulate within the third ring of Milan’s city center. Wayla will take over the operation of the new night shuttle service, provide the vehicles and employ the driving personnel. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, Wayla relies on the expertise of the DB company ioki, which provides booking and route planning. The minibuses will operate a door-to-door service without fixed stops and schedules. Instead, the algorithm developed by ioki automatically bundles passengers with similar routes into ridepools. This is how it works: Simply enter the desired departure time and destination and the Wayla app will show you the way to the pick-up point.
“Living in Milan and reading the local news over the past years, it’s evident that there is a lack of transportation solutions available to citizens, especially in the evening hours. Wayla will finally offer a safe, economical, and sustainable alternative to residents and tourists, ensuring a quality service thanks to the direct management of vehicles and drivers and the unparalleled experience of our partner ioki,” comments Alessandro Villa, COO of Wayla.
“Anyone who is out and about in Milan in the evening sometimes waits in vain for a taxi. We want to change that,” explains Benjamin Pfeifer, Managing Director of the software-as-a-service company ioki about the planned launch in autumn. “Simply download the app, register and you’re ready to go. We are sure that the people of Milan will be as enthusiastic about it as we are.”
Working together for new mobility solutions
The partnership between Wayla and ioki shows that new approaches are needed to meet the mobility needs of the urban population. By combining Wayla’s local expertise with ioki’s technological capabilities, the two companies aim to fundamentally optimise nighttime mobility in Milan and beyond.
