Hailo

A minimalist design featuring five yellow circles on a black background, arranged in two vertical columns.

Hailo is a smart mobility platform that enables users to have two-way communications with the drivers; making sure nobody is left behind.

Team Size:
3
Location:
Australia
Founders:
Santiago Velasquez, Jonathan Dalton
Program(s):

The Problem

Over one billion people (15%) across the world have a disability. 34% (USA) and 45% (Australia) of people with a disability and access to public transport have difficulty using it. For many this prevents them from driving their own vehicle, making them reliant on public transport, taxi’s/ride-share or family/friends to go places. As even subsidised services are expensive, public transport is their only option to travel independently. This leaves many choosing to go out less frequently, and live smaller lives in their home. This deprives society of a willing workforce and their expenditure. In addition to the impact this has on a person’s mental health, it also reduces their ability to obtain employment, making them 5x as likely to be reliant on the Government Pension/Allowance as their main source of income. Across the world, billions of dollars are spent each year on paratransit services and taxi subsidies, and this could be reduced if public transport was accessible.

The Solution

Hailo brings the convenience of Uber to public transport. It enables people to hail a bus/train/tram/ferry from their app, automatically notifying the driver, and alerting the commuter when the vehicle or destination approaches, track the journey and notify commuter of any changes. Co-designed by people with disabilities to improve the dependability and accessibility of public transport infrastructure means people with low vision no longer miss vehicles/destination, suspension can be lowered for mobility impaired, and people in wheelchairs are not left on a train because the train-guard did not know to deploy the ramps. It has additional advantages that commuters are automatically notified of delays or changes to schedules, and travel routes can be modified for people with cognitive impairments. Connecting to the vehicles GPS, it overcomes issues mobile phones have in built up areas to correctly identify location, so it correctly alerts commuters when their destination approaches.