Search

Transportation consultant Jack Opiola considers how a ‘Levels of MaaS’ approach - along with the concept of ‘co-opetition’ and increasing public acceptance - can smooth the journey to a future with more sustainable mobility The premise of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is simple: the seamless, infinitely adaptable delivery of mobility, together with associated information, ticketing, and payment services, across all modes of transport. All of this is in near-real time - or predictively, wirelessly, securely

Georgia’s new transportation authority will focus on regional funding and planning, says Andrew Bardin Williams – and hopes to be a model for reorganisation across the US With an eye toward eventually creating Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Georgia state legislature has shaken up how transportation is managed by creating a new regional transit governance and funding organisation. The Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) will be responsible for transit plann

Many of the great and the good in the global mobility sector gathered at this year’s Movin’ On event in Montreal. Measured regulation of technologies and safety issues were major themes, reports David Arminas. *Bibendum is the original name for the Michelin Man, the symbol of the Michelin tyre company Autonomous vehicles, platooning, smart intersections and safety – these were the talking points over two-and-a-half days of the Movin’ On event in Montreal, Canada. Everyone in the mobility sector is at the

A technical tour of the Australian Integrated Multimodal Eco-System (AIMES) living laboratory electrified ITS Australia’s 2018 National Electronic Tolling and Charging Conference in Melbourne. Based at the University of Melbourne’s School of Engineering, AIMES had, by early in the year, achieved interconnection of 15 traffic intersections in the city. Since going live in April 2017, the lab has been collecting data on public, private, freight and active transportation to support strategic decision-making o

ITS (UK) members debated the proposition that “MaaS will reduce private vehicle ownership long before automated vehicles (AVs) will have any impact on it” at their 2018 annual general meeting. There was scepticism about scenarios predicting that AVs as providers of on-demand transport will be the norm by around 2030. Doubts centred on two factors: owning and driving a personally-owned vehicle being too precious for most people to cede; and the reality of urban streets proving too difficult for AVs as curren

Strong links with Italian municipalities have won TTS Italia key roles in three major projects which are supported by the European Union. The three-year SocialCar, ending in May 2018, has researched a dedicated ‘intelligent mobility’ communications network for integrating carpooling offers with existing urban public transit to enable more effective transport demand management. Key elements include crowd-sourced information, GNSS-based location, use of social media and the creation of powerful planning algo

Would you give up your own car? Helsinki implemented MaaS late last year and Colin Sowman discovers that the initial reaction has been positive What would it take for you to give up your own car? That is the question posed by Sampo Hietanen, the so-called ‘father’ of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and CEO of MaaS Global. And he is about to discover if MaaS really will convince the people of Helsinki to do the unthinkable. MaaS Global introduced a fledgling version of its Whim app in the city in late 2016

UK-based air quality specialists EarthSense is developing an app which will identify and map clean air routes for people cycling or exercising. The company says the application could also help wider clean air strategies when combined with population movement data. According to EarthSense, collating this data would allow key decision makers to identify popular exercise routes and target resources to improve air quality at these locations. The app is being funded by the European Space Agency's grant

BM Mobility has launched its Revgo electric bike-sharing service at the University of Malaya in Malaysia to provide an environmentally friendly mode of transport. A report by The Straits Times says the company will deploy 170 bikes which can travel up to 20km an hour and reach 50km on a full charge. RevGo bikes were initially deployed at the University in July, which according to BM Mobility, now has around 1,000 registered members. The campus has eight parking sites and two charging stations which can

UK-based air quality specialists EarthSense is developing an app which will identify and map clean air routes for people cycling or exercising. The company says the application could also help wider clean air strategies when combined with population movement data. According to EarthSense, collating this data would allow key decision makers to identify popular exercise routes and target resources to improve air quality at these locations. The app is being funded by the European Space Agency's grant p

US electric mobility company Bird has formed a global safety advisory board to implement campaigns and products to improve the safety for riders using electric scooters. The board will also seek to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists who share space with riders using low-speed e-scooters. Additionally, Bird intends to carry on working with cities through its Save Our Sidewalks pledge to boost rider safety and improve the quality of bikes lanes. The scope of the work includes repainting an

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDoT) is installing Applied Information’s internet of things (IoT) technology in a bid to improve safety in school districts statewide. The initiative will be complete before the start of the academic term. The Glance School Zone Beacon System is powered by AT&T's 4G/LTE mobile network and will be implemented at more than 300 schools in 118 counties. School zone beacons, flashing signs which warn drivers to slow down, will be connected to IoT technology to help

Getaround has launched its peer-to-peer carsharing service in Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, US, in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion. The service also allows car owners to earn money by renting vehicles to people in their neighbourhood. The cars can be booked hourly or daily and are equipped with Getaround Connect, a patented platform which allows users to remotely locate and unlock vehicles through the company's iPhone or Android app.

Finnish company EkoRent is launching its Nopia Ride electric mobility service in Nairobi, Kenya, in a bid to reduce emissions and solve the capital’s transportation challenges. The company, operating under the name EkoRent Africa, says it intends to increase the number of electric vehicles operating in the area to several hundred by the end of the year. Dr. Ombacho, head of public health in Nairobi, has urged other companies in the private sector to prioritise the development of environmentally friendly

UK-based organisation TravelSpirit Foundation has partnered with MaaS Alliance to help accelerate the deployment of Mobility as a Service (MaaS). TravelSpirit was formed in 2016 to provide an open framework to ensure new integrated mobility services are universally available. It has established a global network of activists, innovators, technologists, policy makers and mobility providers. Giles Bailey, CEO of TravelSpirit, says MaaS needs to be open for it to reach its potential.

Drivers in the City of Orillia, Canada, can use Passport's parking app at 200 on-street spaces and nearly 500 off-street spaces in the downtown area. The City has made PassportParking available to residents and visitors to offer a more convenient payment method. Users can also extend their parking sessions remotely, keep track of parking history, receive notifications and get email receipts.

Lurraldebus, the Spanish intercity public transport service operating in Gipuzkoa province, has launched a mobile ticketing service based on Masabi's Justride SDK platform. The solution is available in Spanish, English and Euskera and is intended to provide riders with a simple method for buying tickets. The LurTicket system allows passengers to download an app, developed by technology company Gerktek, which can be used to purchase tickets. Riders present the pass as an encrypted barcode to bus drivers.

Visitors at the University of Western Australia (UWA) can now travel around the campus on an EasyMile autonomous bus. The partnership has launched a nine-day project to assess the possibility of using this type of technology as an on-site sustainable transport link. The bus will travel at 5Kmh with a trained observer onboard who will oversee the technology and answer questions. The vehicle can carry up to 14 passengers and uses telecommunication company Telstra's mobile network for navigation. Membe

Oasis Charger will acquire manufacturer Garage Juice Bar's assets to support a major expansion of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in North America. Oasis Charger is a privately capitalised entity which was formed in 2018 to obtain Garage Juice Bar's chargers which operate in parking lots and garages in 71 cities and throughout the US and Canada. Through the agreement, ProPark's CEO John Schmid and chief investment officer David Schmid will join Oasis Charger's board of directors. David Schmid say

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) will provide a $763,000 grant to Wellington, New Zealand, to convert 50 former trolley buses to battery power. The initiative supports the Greater Regional Wellington Council's ambition to run a fully electric fleet on its Metlink service. EECA is a government agency which works to improve the energy efficiency of New Zealand's homes and businesses. Bus operator NZ Bus will install fast-charging stations for its former trolley buses at depots in the