Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has appointed FOD Mobility Group as delivery partner in the development of a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) app for the region.
They have agreed on a two-year contract, with options to extend for up to three more and valued at £1.28 million, under which the transport authority will use the company’s Mobilleo MaaS platform.
The app will enable users to receive live travel information and book and pay for all local transport options, including buses, trains, trams, e-scooters and taxis.
Alongside FOD Mobility, TfWM is working with a range of partners including behaviour change consultancy Arcadis, real time public transport data providers ITO World and smart ticketing software provider Unicard.
Local authority and transport operators will also take part in the development of the app, which is being funded by the Department for Transport’s Future Transport Zone programme.
Investment and access
Anne Shaw, executive director of TfWM, said: “TfWM is putting unprecedented investment into growing our Metro, rail, bus and active travel networks.
“As well as developing travel modes, we need to look closely at how we can make accessing transport as seamless as possible through simple plan, book and pay mechanisms. This will encourage more people to use public and shared transport, or active travel and reduce private car use.
“With this new mobility as a service platform we are looking to do just that. We are working with some of the best British tech and mobility companies to design an app which is easy to use, convenient and offers great value. This will be a one stop shop for anyone looking to travel around the West Midlands.”
The award notice for the TfWM contract with FOD Mobility says data sourced from the app will be used in modelling to support business cases for further investment in the West Midlands’ transport networks to for their better day-to-day operation.
It defines MaaS as a one-stop interface covering not only public transport but modes such as car hire, ride sharing, walking and cycling.
