Ecolane Acquired by National Express Group, Expands Service and Pricing Options
National Express has announced its acquisition of Philadelphia and Finland-based Ecolane and its business assets. Headquartered outside of Philadelphia, Ecolane provides technological solutions and services to increase the productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction levels for their clients.
“By bringing Ecolane into the National Express family, we will be able to expand our service offerings and introduce new capabilities to all our transit customers,” said Judith Crawford, CEO of National Express Transit. “Having a world-class transit and paratransit scheduling and dispatch platform is a market differentiator and Ecolane's software fits perfectly with our vision. We are thrilled to have them join National Express.”
National Express Transit’s attention is focused on providing the safest, highest quality transportation services for customers and the communities served and adheres to five core values: safety, customers, people, community and excellence.
“This acquisition by National Express, a company with a reputation for providing high quality services, is very welcome ,” said Steve Ross, CEO of Ecolane. “The culture and values of both companies are closely aligned and we already have a successful history working on projects together. The additional resources that National Express brings to the table will help Ecolane expand our already successful product offerings and related services. The entire team at Ecolane is excited by the prospect of formalizing what has already been an excellent relationship."
The partnership has already led to the introduction and launch of a new pricing structure for customers held captive in legacy software implementations, an all-too-common occurrence in the transit industry. Ecolane's Legacy Advancement Program (LAP) provides agencies with the opportunity to leverage next generation transit technology in order to realize new operational efficiencies, at a price point equivalent to existing legacy maintenance fees.
Describing the new offering, Ross stated "The legacy advancement program allows organizations to break free from antiquated software without the high switching costs normally associated with a change. The concept stemmed directly from industry feedback and has been overwhelmingly positive for Ecolane's business."
