April 16, 2015
Transport app a link to startup success
Engineering student wants to create an affordable on-demand public transport system.
Final year mechatronic engineering student Thomas Headland (pictured above) wants to create a fast, low cost, door-to-door transport service that eliminates the need to wait at a bus stop, check a timetable or stand in crowded buses.
“Everyday I’d be riding to uni thinking about this idea and one day I fell off my bike when I collided with a removalist van. I guess that was the catalyst to investigate the idea further.”
UOW.LINK was born and Thomas took the idea for to the UOW Pitch 2014 competition, where he won an Undergraduate Student Encouragement Award and a $2,000 prize to help further his innovation.
With this funding, mentorship and connections made from UOW’s startup incubator iAccelerate, Thomas has been able to pivot his idea to generate a commercially viable business model and a software-as-a-service prototype.
| UOW PITCH 2015 calling bright minds |
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| Innovative minds have an opportunity to turn their ideas into reality and share in $40,000 worth of prizes as well as iAccelerate scholarships. Entries open 4 May for the UOW Pitch 2015 competition, which is helping staff and students turn their innovative into reality while fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at UOW. For information and entry details visit the UOW Pitch 2015 webpage. |
“My vision was for an automated courtesy bus that enabled real time use by passengers who could be collected anywhere within a 10-kilometre radius of the University,” he said.
“A passenger can simply go to the UOW.LINK app or website and to book door-to-door transfer. The application handles bookings and payments while optimising routes for the driver to ensure you arrive safely and on time.
“It’s designed to be as efficient as a taxi service but with the economy of scale of a bus transport.”
He conducted community surveys and found demand for his idea and then built a prototype smartphone application.
Thomas credits the UOW Pitch competition training for helping him get his idea moving and went on to win third prize at the Pearcey Foundation pitching competition at NSW Parliament House.
“The pitch coaching was able to help me relax not be so nervous and helped refine my pitch, make it more concise, more presentable to potential investors,” he said.
Through contacts made in UOW Pitch and the Pearcey Pitching Competition, Thomas will be travelling to the world’s undisputed tech-hub Silicon Valley.