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Masabi, which makes ticketing and payments for public transport available through mobile apps like Uber, has raised a $20 million Series C funding round. Smedvig Capital led the round. MMC Ventures also participated. Masabi has now raised more than $40.8 million in funding since its founding in London in 2001. Masabi offers public transit authorities software for ticketing and mobile payments. The London company’s main product, Justride, lets consumers tap a contactless bank card, mobile phone, or smartcard to travel on public transit. In 2018, consumers paid for more than 85 million journeys via the system, the company said. However, what will be of more interest to travel industry players is that Masabi makes it easier for ride-sharing apps, trip-planning apps, and other corporate and leisure online travel company apps to integrate ticketing for public transit services that haven’t yet been able to afford technology integrations the way large cities have. Several public transit companies use Masasbi to integrate with third parties. Earlier this year Denver became the first U.S. transit agency to integrate with the Uber app. Uber customers can book rail and bus rides in the app and use the ticket in the Uber app as tickets. Uber will use Masabi to add transit maps and schedule information in participating cities. |
