Jan Švrček, the man behind the Route 66 Navigation app and the national Route 66 Passport, died on Thursday after a long illness. He was 64.
The news was announced by his family and his Touch Media business partner Marian Pavel, who said that the funeral service will take place on Thursday in Švrček’s native Czech Republic.
Švrček was a Route 66 enthusiast who preferred to remain in the background, yet his commitment influenced how people have traveled Route 66 over the past eight years.
“Thanks to his support, services were able to emerge and grow that helped people plan their Route 66 journeys better, navigate more easily and experience the road more deeply. As co-founder of Touch Media, he stood behind the creation of the turn-by-turn Route 66 Navigation app, to help tourists find and stay on historic Route 66 all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica, while also helping mom-and-pop businesses attract more visitors,” Touch Media stated in a news release.
Later, he was involved in the creation of the national Route 66 Passport, which tens of thousands of tourists have used while Route 66.
“I am deeply saddened that he did not live to see the release of the golden Centennial Passport, which we had been working on for the past two years,” said his son, Jan Jr.
During the pandemic, when tourism revenue fell drastically, he took a risk by acquiring the Historic 66 information network, which today is the largest in the world by number of users.
At Touch Media, he supported the sponsorship of various Route 66 initiatives.
“Through his trust in meaningful projects, he helped create value that extended beyond the company itself and beyond a single generation of travelers. Others will continue building on his work, and his legacy will remain present wherever Route 66 connects history, travel, and community,“ said his business partner, Marian Pavel.
Švrček’s children, Jan and Nada, will continue at Touch Media alongside Pavel.
(Image of Jan Švrček courtesy of Touch Media)