PORTO, Portugal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2025--
UbiRider, the innovator behind the UbiRider Platform, the only solution that seamlessly integrates transportation management, payment processing, and data analytics into a single system, today announced it has been honored with three prestigious awards from Global Banking & Finance News, further solidifying its position as a leader in transportation technology and payments innovation. The company has been recognized as:
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These accolades highlight UbiRider’s rapid expansion, groundbreaking approach to transit management, and leadership in revolutionizing payment experiences for riders and transportation providers alike. By seamlessly integrating real-time mobility solutions with frictionless payments, UbiRider is setting a new industry benchmark for efficiency, accessibility, and customer experience.
“Winning these awards is a testament to our relentless pursuit of innovation in the mobility sector,” said Paulo Ferreira dos Santos, CEO and Founder of UbiRider. “We are committed to providing seamless, efficient, and scalable solutions that not only enhance the passenger experience but also empower transportation operators to optimize their services. These recognitions from Global Banking & Finance News validate our leadership in revolutionizing the future of mobility and digital payments.”
The UbiRider Platform integrates transportation management, real-time data insights, and contactless payments into a single, scalable system, enabling transit agencies to enhance efficiency while delivering a frictionless experience for travelers. By making open-loop payment systems more accessible and affordable, UbiRider is transforming mobility ecosystems across Portugal and beyond.
As UbiRider continues its rapid growth, these awards reaffirm its dedication to advancing smart mobility, driving sustainability, and setting new benchmarks in transportation technology.
For more information about UbiRider and its award-winning solutions, visit www.ubirider.com.
About UbiRider
UbiRider was founded with the mission to transform the utilization and management of transportation operations to be simple, elegant and more accessible. The UbiRider Platform is the most complete mobility-as-a-service platform that includes mobile and web components that serve the interests and needs of travelers, commuters and mobility operators. PICK is a mobility-as-a-service app which helps travelers determine the best option for every journey, combining traditional and modern modes of transportation from buses and ferries to carsharing and micro-mobility. UbiRider is based in Porto, Portugal, and is funded by Techtree Investments, an investment vehicle from CTT and managed by Iberis Capital and Cedrus R&D III, an investment vehicle managed by Cedrus Capital, Grupo Barraqueiro as well as angel investors. UbiRider is a strategic partner of Mastercard, Deloitte, PayShop and Viva.com. For more information, visit www.ubirider.com.
UbiRider has been honored with three prestigious awards from Global Banking & Finance News, further solidifying its position as a leader in transportation technology and payments innovation. The company has been recognized as: - Best New Logistics and Transportation Technology Solutions Portugal 2025 - Fastest Growing Logistics & Transportation Technology Solutions Portugal 2025 - Excellence in Innovation Payment Solution Provider Portugal 2025
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met Friday in Istanbul for their first direct peace talks in three years, officials said.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting.
The officials present sat around a U-shaped table, with the Russians and Ukrainians facing each other.
Officials and observers expect the Turkish-brokered talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year war.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was due to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
A senior Ukrainian official close to the talks said that Kyiv’s delegation was prepared to “achieve a lot today” and with a real mandate to resolve key issues. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make official statements, said the outcome hinges on whether Moscow is equally serious.
Both countries have tried to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration over the slow progress and threatened to punish foot-dragging, that they are eager to resolve the conflict.
The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face. Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks.
Although expectations for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting were low, the apparent lack of traction in peace efforts frustrated hopes of bold steps being taken in Turkey toward reaching a settlement.
The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war, and Trump said Thursday during a trip to the Middle East that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
On Friday, Trump said a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Comments Friday by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov appeared to indicate that momentum for a summit is building, as Peskov told reporters top-level talks were “certainly needed.” But he noted that preparing a summit would take time.
Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.
Russia’s invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the U.N. says, and razed towns and villages. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and likely a larger number of Russian troops, officials and analysts say.
On the battlefield, one Ukrainian soldier said he wasn’t hopeful that the talks would bring a swift end to the war.
“I don’t think they will agree on anything concrete, because summer is the best time for war,” he said, using only the call sign “Corsair,” in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military. “The enemy is trying to constantly escalate the situation.”
But he told The Associated Press that many of his fellow soldiers “believe that by the end of the year there will be peace, albeit an unstable one, but peace.”
A Friday morning drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said. All the victims worked for a municipal utility.
After Putin didn’t take up Zelenskyy’s challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as “a theater prop.”
Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow.
The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
A flurry of diplomatic activity took place in Istanbul before the talks.
Ukrainian officials held an early-morning meeting with national security advisers from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom to coordinate positions, a senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The U.S. team was led by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, while Umerov and presidential office chief Andriy Yermak represented Ukraine, the official said.
A three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Kellogg.
Rubio on Thursday said he didn't foresee major developments in Istanbul.
“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.
Zelenskyy, meantime, flew to Albania to attend a meeting Friday of the leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.
Aamer Madhani in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Delegations from U.S, left, led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, fourth left, Turkey, center, led by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, center, and Ukraine, right, led by Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, fourth right, and Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, second right, gather for a meeting at Dolmabahce palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool)
In this handout photo released by Turkish Foreign Ministry, from left, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Ukrainian Head of Presidential Office Andriy Yermak arrive for a meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this handout photo released by Turkish Foreign Ministry, front from left, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrive for a meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP)
Vehicles leave the area after talks between the U.S., Turkish and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen prepare the drone "Kazhan" that delivers supply and carry heavy bombs, on the front line near Chasiv Yar town, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
Vehicles begin arriving outside a gate prior to expected talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)
