TravelTech company Sn-ap has raised £3.4m in a round led by ADV and Oxford Capital.
Sn-ap is an intercity coach travel company, which allows passengers to travel ‘on-demand’ as they are matched with other people who want to make the same journey.
The company uses machine learning to set prices, based on predictions of the dates, times and routes that people wish to travel; only becoming available during times of high demand.
The aim is to help coaches fill their spots, whilst selling seats at fair prices.
Sn-ap was founded in October 2016 by Thomas Ableman, former commercial director of Chiltern Railways and product development director of National Express.
This is its third round of funding. They kicked off with a Seed investment round of £1m provided by angel investors. In September 2017 they raised further £2m funding from Kindred Capital. This round brings Sn-ap’s total to £6m raised in just 20 months.
Sn-ap already operates in Bristol, Cardiff and Nottingham. The fresh funding will be used to roll its service out to a further four UK cities in the next five months.
Founder Thomas Ableman explained the premise of his company: “Intercity travellers have had to put up with poor service, high fares and the constraints of fixed routes and timetables for too long. We are bringing the power of technology to give them the quality and service they deserve.”
Customers can also give star ratings to coaches and drivers, to maintain an idea of quality.
Mike Dimelow, CIO at ADV, said: “Intercity travel is being re-imagined. Think of ride hailing a luxury coach across the country with door-to-door service and no time spent in a cold bus depot.
“We’re excited to get on board and support Sn-ap’s growth with a patient venture approach,” he added.
By the summer, Sn-ap predicts over 100,000 people will be using its service. The company focuses exclusively on intercity travel, using vehicles originally built for football teams, rugby clubs and long-distance tours.