West Midlands gives MaaS another go

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) plans to launch a new region-wide mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) app to give customers the most convenient, cost-effective and sustainable options, tailored to their individual preferences.

TfWM launched a MaaS trial in 2018, but it failed to live up to expectations. The new initiative aims to build on lessons learned.

The operator has partnered with FOD Mobility Group to help design and develop the new MaaS platform.

Users will be able to plan journeys, receive live travel information, and book and pay for all local transport options through the app – including buses, trains, trams, e-scooters, bike-hires, taxis, car rentals and car clubs.

“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,” said Anne Shaw, Executive Director of Transport for West Midlands.

“This will encourage more people to use public and shared transport, or active travel and reduce private car use.

“With this new platform we are looking to do just that – 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.”

Operator-led approach

The app will be funded through the Department for Transport’s Future Transport Zone programme, but exact details have not been revealed.

“The project involves a series of contracts and partnerships which are currently in development and therefore is commercially sensitive at this time,” a spokesperson for TfWM told Cities Today.

In March 2018, TfWM partnered with Finnish firm MaaS Global to develop what was billed as the UK’s first MaaS service.

The trial was based on a subscription model that offered users an all-inclusive monthly package, with prices ranging from £99-£349 (US$136-US$480) for unlimited access to the region’s buses, trams, taxis and bike-share schemes. However, the initiative did not “meet expectations”, TfWM’s’ Head of Transport Innovation Chris Lane told Cities Today in 2021.

“We found from that trial that we really weren’t reaching the size and number of people that we wanted to because it was purely commercial, and it really does depend on the size of the marketing budget,” he said.

“So if you’re the Ubers of this world, you’ve probably got quite a large marketing budget to reach a lot of people, but we weren’t able to do that with that original service.”

“A lot was learned from that trial which has informed the current approach.” TfWM’s spokesperson said. “Including that this new project is very much TfWM-led.”

Initially the service will be based on current retail ticketing, rather than a subscription-based model, but “in due course there may be an opportunity with our operators and partners to test or trial new approaches such as subscription or bundled services,” the spokesperson added.

To share knowledge on MaaS, TfWM has collaborated with other Future Transport Zone areas, including Nottingham, Derby and the West of England Combined Authority, and participated in discussions with UK and European cities and regions.

The operator is aiming to launch a test version of the app during the first half of 2024.