WILLERS is pleased to announce the official launch on the operation of its mobi service - a first and last-mile on-demand shared shuttle service with AI-routing capability. This is a first-of-its-kind subscription-based mobility service with unlimited rides in Singapore, providing customers with a comfortable, safe and predictable ride on specific waypoints in an area.

This community-centric shared mobility service is a joint collaboration between WILLERS, a Japanese-based company who develops and operates the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform - mobi, and SWAT Mobility (SWAT), a Singapore startup who provides the AI routing
technology.

In Singapore, the service will initially cater to residents of the River Valley, Orchard, and Newton areas. Users can easily book the shuttle bus rides via the mobi mobile application (available on iOS and Android) where they can choose from over 100 virtual ‘bus stops’ in the
area.

Servicing an area with a population of more than 30,000, mobi aims to provide high quality service with fast and convenient access for residents to the area’s key shopping malls, medical facilities, dining precincts, schools, and tuition centres. The service makes the best use of SWAT’s AI technology, with optimal routing capability to transport passengers quickly and efficiently to their destination.

Shigetaka Murase, Founder and CEO of WILLER Inc (Japan) and WILLERS Pte Ltd said: “By offering a simple and easy to use first- and last-mile transport service to communities living in an area of about 2km in radius, mobi offers a niche solution for people to get to places that may be too far or inconvenient to walk, yet too short to drive, or uneconomical to travel to by taxi or a ride-hailing service. We believe this will encourage more short distance travel, generate more town activities and changing lifestyles. The service also integrates and complements well with the existing public transport network by providing better access and connectivity to key transport nodes and by bridging gaps in-between.

Moreover, we take pride in promoting smarter and greener urban living, by encouraging people to leave their cars at home for short distance travel, and by increasing freedom of mobility, especially for the elderly and families with young children. It illustrates the
importance of on-demand shared mobility as a sustainable form of mobility that supports car-lite towns/cities and green transport initiatives.”

The service runs 7 days a week, including public holidays, between 08:30am and 10:00pm. New sign-ups can try the service for free for two weeks after which the users can continue using the service at a very affordable fixed monthly subscription rate for unlimited rides or on a pay-per-ride basis. Being a family-oriented mobility solution, the subscription plan allows the main user to add family members for a very nominal fee for up to 5 persons.

The strategic partnership between Willers and SWAT demonstrates strong synergies between the two companies, leveraging each other’s strength, presence in different geographical locations and deep understanding of the diverse customer demographics, to deliver an innovative integrated mobility solution with a strong value-proposition to benefit citizens and users across the region.

Jarrold Ong, Co-Founder and CEO of SWAT Mobility added: “A year ago, we announced our strategic partnership with WILLERS to collaborate on transforming mobility in Asia Pacific countries, specifically focused on improving how people move around in their daily lives. Today, we are very proud and excited to jointly launch this mobility service in our home country Singapore. The strong combination of SWAT’s and WILLERS’ experience and capabilities enables us to deliver on a strong promise of a convenient, safe and predictable ride.
This Singapore launch is a lynchpin for our growth plans to scale through partnerships. We believe that by combining SWAT’s dynamic, high-capacity pooling algorithm and WILLERS’ MaaS platform, coupled with a subscription-based business model, we are offering a new and innovative way to cater to consumers’ changing behavior in mobility. We are looking forward to scaling this offering both locally and overseas in the next 12 months.

In addition, as part of SWAT’s mission to contribute to a sustainable tomorrow, we will be collaborating closely with WILLERS to deliver on options that are aligned with the region’s focus on sustainable transport.”

The mobi community mobility service was first started by WILLERS in Kyoto in Japan in June 2021 and has since expanded to other parts of Japan including Tokyo, Nagoya and Hokkaido. WILLERS and SWAT will progressively expand and roll out the service to more locations in Singapore as well as to the other cities/towns in the region in the very near future.

Today’s launch event was witnessed by His Excellency Jun Yamazaki, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore, and representatives from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG).

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