Avego was delighted to welcome Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Wicklow TD Simon Harris to its Dublin office on the 11th of May for a high speed tour and hands on demonstration of our products. 
Weronika Morisson showed them Avego’s latest Leap Card technology. Avego is developing electronic ticket issuing machines, on the Android platform , integrated with Leap Card readers, for private bus operators all over Ireland. Matthews Coach Hire and Wexford Bus are the first to try out the new technology, selling cash tickets and validating Leap Cards.
Mr Kenny was pleased to see how easy it is for passengers to use their new Leap Card, and how attractive the new driver interface is. The bus operators are also rubbing their hands in delight , as the Avego ticket machines speed up boarding and significantly reduce the cost of handling cash.
Colin Mooney and Richard Bryce then shared a real-time ride from Enda’s home parish of Islandeady in Co. Mayo to Castlebar, using Avego’s iPhone app. The demo worked flawlessly, with Enda enjoying a virtual ride all the way into town. My Kenny said this was “innovative use of technology for taking cars off the road”.
The third part of Avego’s product portfolio is vanpooling. Colin introduced the concept to Mr Kenny, explaining how successful Avego’s technology has been in increasing the number of vanpools for our customers in USA. In Ireland vanpooling is not officially recognized as a form of public transport (unlike the USA); so it has yet to become financially viable. Avego would love to see a vanpool market open up in Europe as this would significantly reduce single occupancy vehicles on our overcrowded commuter routes. The opening up of bus lanes and the introduction of tax incentives (like those currently available on buses and trains) would create many vanpooling business opportunities, as well as ecological benefits for all.