£1m made available in round two of Transport Scotland's Mobility as a Service Investment Fund
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The Scottish Government has made £1 million available to as part of the second and final round of the Mobility as a Service Investment Fund which aims to make public transport easier while encouraging people away from single-occupancy car trips.
The funding by the Scottish Government aims to foster creativity in the sector and grow the evidence base for the global MaaS concept, helping to deliver solutions which are tailored for communities across Scotland.
Projects funded in round one include:
HITRANS - a project delivering MaaS across the Highlands & Islands. Working in partnership with IBI planning and engineering consultants, and Arcadis MaaS design consultants, HITRANS seeks to bring bring togehter journey planning, real time data, multi-modes of public, active and sharing transport, and ticketing purchasing into one app and reduce the reliance on private car trips.
Tactran - looking to run three pilots that bring together journey planning, real time data, multi-modes of public, active and sharing transport, facilities information, personalised booking and ticket purchasing with integrated rewards system in one app.
Dundee City Council - a project seeking to support people attending events in the Dundee area and will provide better information about public, shared and active travel options to venues, as well as improving travel ticketing options at the point of purchasing event tickets.
“The Scottish Government sees great potential in the future of MaaS solutions and an opportunity for Scotland to be at the forefront of developments. That’s why we committed through our Programme for Government in 2018 to establish the Mobility as a Service Investment Fund." said Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson.
“Much has changed since 2018, but as we think about the urgent need for a green recovery while we build back from the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential of MaaS solutions in Scottish transport is perhaps more important than ever before. MaaS applications can directly support our vision for a more sustainable transport system as outlined in our National Transport Strategy, in addition to supporting the bold commitments we’ve made through our updated Climate Change Plan.
“By creating new partnerships between the public and private sectors to focus on collaborative solutions to complex transport problems, I’m excited to see continued ambition through this final round of funding.”
Dr Alastair McInroy, CEO of Technology Scotland said: “While the ongoing pandemic has inevitably had a profound impact on the way we engage with transport, it has also highlighted the increasing need for Mobility as a Service solutions. These solutions will play a crucial role in re-building passenger confidence in our shared transport assets, something that is absolutely essential if we are to meet our aims of a more sustainable transport network over the coming years.
“With this in mind we are delighted to see the continuation of the Scottish Government’s MaaS Investment Fund programme through the launch of Round 2 today. We have been hugely encouraged by the level of interest already shown by potential project leads and we are excited to see how Round 2 projects will augment and compliment those supported through Round 1.”
Organisations can find out more and apply on the Transport Scotland website.
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