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Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is growing in Australia and Moovit is excited to be a part of the rapidly-growing ecosystem. As urbanisation and rapid population growth continue throughout the country, congestion and the rise of single rider cars, along with the burden on aging public transport systems, are becoming key topics of discussion in Australian cities and among transport operators.
In parallel with the population boom, there’s been a shift from ownership to access. Sparked by the rise of the sharing economy that has become popular throughout the country, many Australian cities are primed for complete MaaS solutions. A recent survey conducted by ITS Australia, an independent non-profit organization, found that 46% of Australians are ready to adopt a MaaS pay-as-you-go scheme that integrates both public and private transport offerings. The survey also found that real-time information as well as an integrated way to plan, book, and pay for their rides are crucial for any MaaS offerings in Australia.
With COVID-19 affecting transportation around the world, it’s important to consider the changing needs of Australian transport riders in order to effectively serve the population and win them back as mass transport passengers. Moovit also recently conducted a survey of tens of thousands of Moovit users to see what effect COVID-19 has had on the habits and needs of transit riders around the world, with three Australian cities, Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne included.
When looking at the top ways to encourage riders to return to public transport, Melbourne and Sydney respondents preferred social distancing on buses and trains the most, while Adelaide residents chose higher frequency vehicles to prevent overcrowding, which Melbourne and Sydney ranked as their number two way to encourage public transport usage.
The free survey includes further insights on how quickly ridership will bounce back and the different needs of riders around the world, helpful for those looking for real rider responses to build public transport back, stronger than ever.
| Download our FREE report on How Urban Mobility is Evolving Post-COVID-19 |
With a better understanding of how riders can be brought back safely and on their own terms, we’re excited to announce several new initiatives we’re a part of throughout Australia that will help both riders and agencies start their new normals. Here’s a quick synopsis of our new activities ‘down under.’
Our first venture into Australia is a partnership with Adelaide Metro to help make urban mobility more accessible and keep the city moving. Adelaide Metro has endorsed Moovit to provide the more than 1.3 million Adelaide citizens with efficient, easy-to-plan journeys, real-time arrival data and alerts, live navigation, and much, much more.
“By providing better, faster, and more accurate information we are empowering public transport customers to make better decisions about their journeys, providing a better service,” said Stephan Knoll, Minister for Transport.
Enabling riders with real-time information and a range of transport options is what Moovit is all about, and we’re happy to help Adelaide residents enjoy public transport on their terms.
In addition to our Adelaide partnership, we’re also thrilled to be a part of Waverley’s initiative to increase access to transport hubs and shared transportation with new kerbside pick-up/drop-off (PUDO) bays in high traffic areas. The PUDO bays offer safe pick-up and drop-off access in areas like Bondi Beach and the Bondi Junction Interchange for riders taking public transport, ride-share, as well as the general public, increasing safe transport options for Waverley citizens.
Moovit was one of two apps to be selected out of the Waverley Transport Innovation Challenge to conduct a year-long trial, which will allow Moovit users to choose their preferred PUDO bay in the app as a pick-up or drop-off location.
(Image source: https://opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au/wave-hello-new-trials-from-waverley-transport-innovation-challenge)
Finally, we’re officially in Australia with a new office in Sydney. The Moovit app has long offered multimodal trip planning including real-time arrival information in partnership with agencies to riders in dozens of cities throughout Australia and New Zealand, but with the opening of a home base ‘down under,’ we’ll now be able to accelerate our sales and partnership activities. We’re now working with Australian transport agencies to leverage Moovit’s Mobility as a Service solutions in creating more personalized experiences for their riders and optimizing the systems behind them.
We’re excited to introduce Moovit to new Australian users as well as transit agencies and cities who can now push forward with smart mobility solutions to help Australians get from A to B fluidly, safely, and on their own terms, especially important post-COVID lockdowns. We look forward to being a part of the growing urban mobility space ‘down under’!
