2024 marks a significant milestone for Optibus: our tenth anniversary as a company and a decade of commitment to innovating an industry that positively impacts billions of people everyday: public transportation. The “Decade of Impact” blog series dives into Optibus’ past, present, and vision for the future. We hope it brings everyone in the Optibus community closer to the positive impact you make on the world, and inspires more people to join us in making public transportation better. Together.
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As we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Optibus, we look back on a journey filled with growth, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to our core values.
From our humble beginnings with just two founders, we have grown into a vibrant team of over 400 employees. Our staff comprises talented, passionate people, including PhDs in optimization algorithms, electric vehicle experts, former transportation planners and schedulers, dedicated customer success specialists and solutions engineers, and award-winning designers. These individuals are spread across 26 countries, from the US to Japan, Brazil to France, and Portugal to Australia, some working remotely and others in our offices in cities such as New York, Portland, São Paulo, London, Berlin, and Tel Aviv.
Optibus brings together people from around the globe to tackle the most challenging issues facing the public transportation industry.
Our Core Values: The Bedrock of Our Success
Our team is diverse, but we all thrive on a common set of values: determination, innovation, caring, and impact. These values have been the foundation of Optibus' success.
In our early days, when we were a small newcomer to the public transportation industry, we competed against large, well-established companies that had been leading the market for decades. What distinguished us was our unwavering commitment to our values. We approached every challenge with determination, constantly sought innovative solutions, and aimed to create a meaningful impact while demonstrating the utmost care for our clients. This approach allowed us to win significant deals with major players around the world, and we continue to work with many of those clients today.
A Balanced Ambition: Profit, People, and the Planet
From the outset, our ambition to grow Optibus was well-rounded and multi-dimensional. We adopted a triple bottom line approach considering not only profit, but also people and the planet. Our company culture has never revolved solely around financial return on investment or monetary success; it has always been much bigger than that. We look at the full spectrum of positive impact we can make on the world.
There are many problems that need solving in this world. Access to education, food scarcity, infrastructure, homelessness, pollution, clean energy, healthcare, and beyond. If we as a society decided to better allocate our money, time, and efforts toward addressing these issues that impact everyone, we would already be waving goodbye to many of today's pressing challenges.
Our commitment to making a positive impact and addressing just one of these challenges - how to improve public transportation - is evident when you speak to our employees. One of the most common reasons they give for choosing to join Optibus is the opportunity to make a difference. We are proud to be a group of individuals dedicated to using our diverse skills, knowledge, and resources to contribute positively to society.
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Members of the New York office attend a local volunteering event in their community.
Driving Impact from the Inside Out
Change starts from within. As an impact-driven company, one of our major initiatives is ESG (environment, social, governance). Through ESG, we ensure that Optibus meets the highest standards of sustainability and inclusivity - the same changes we hope to see in the world. Over the years, our efforts have been recognized with numerous awards, including the LGBTech Gold Standard Mark and the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. In 2023, we were honored with a Gold Medal for sustainability performance from Ecovadis, ranking us in the top 5% of companies globally in that category.
Looking Ahead: Shaping the Future Through our Values
As we celebrate our ten-year milestone, we remain committed to our core values and our mission to make a positive impact. We are excited about the future and the opportunities it holds. Our journey has only just begun, and we look forward to continuing to innovate, grow, and make a difference in the world.
Here's to the next decade of Optibus—driven by determination, fueled by innovation, grounded in care, and committed to impact. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey. Together, we will continue to shape a more sustainable, equitable world by improving the way our cities move.
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