Optibus has announced that Leon Daniels, former managing director of Surface Transport for London, is joining the company as an investor. Daniels’ decision to join Optibus aligns with his understanding of the challenges of operating and modernizing mass-transit bus services and operations, leveraging his experience in running one of the world’s most efficient and visionary mass transit services in London and preparing the city for the 2012 Olympics.
Optibus, whose vision is to provide technology to improve today’s mass transit, recently opened its London offices. Daniels’ understanding of the complex inner and outer workings of city-wide mobility will help further Optibus’ mission to fix surface transportation, by saving expenses and improving on-time performance using advanced optimization algorithms and AI.
“We are delighted to welcome Leon to the team to further develop our vision for the future of mass transportation,” said Amos Haggiag, CEO and co-founder of Optibus. “As we tackle the complex issue of mass transit, and disrupt the industry city-by-city, we value Leon’s insight and know he will lead us through this exciting chapter.”
Daniels comes with an exceptional record of delivery and performance of street management at the highest level of private and public-sector organizations. His knowledge encompasses bus transport, urban rail, cycling, road safety and more, having served as managing director of surface transport for London — a £3.5bn business that takes care of all passenger transport in the capital — and lead major transport events such as RideLondon and the London Marathon. Now retired, his projects include working as a startup advisor.
“I have always been excited about what the future holds for transportation and what the market disrupters will deliver,” said Leon Daniels, Optibus investor and advisor. “Mainstream public transport faces the increasing demand of delivering faster response times, meeting shorter deadlines, and delivering an economic return on investment. I am delighted to join Optibus who is giving exceptional new capabilities to transport operators that will enable them to become more agile and deliver significant efficiencies. Optibus represents a significant step forward and I am thrilled to join such a talented team at the forefront of the industry.”
