The City of Pittsburgh has piloted a comprehensive smart mobility app as a service, It is the first platform of its kind in the United States. Accordingly, Pittsburgh’s residents can ease their dependence on private cars as the app provides their daily commutes reliably and affordably. In other words, With this app, they can pay for buses; rent e-bikes and scooters; share the trip with others; and rent a car for a few hours. Users can also combine multiple modes of transportation without having to exit the app or re-enter their payment details.
In Pittsburgh, The second largest city in the US state of Pennsylvania, The transport system is not without challenges, Despite being ranked 15th nationwide, Private cars that dominate transport are not affordable for everyone. One fifth of the population cannot afford to buy them, This includes 65% of low-income households. Because improving the transport network is linked to achieving social justice, Government services should focus on those who face a daily challenge in getting to work, study, or even grocery stores. On the other hand, Tens of thousands of workers live hundreds of meters from public transport outlets. Many of which have been closed by the Pittsburgh Transport and Communications Authority over the past decade, Prior to the sharp decline in revenues experienced by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn affected its services, In addition to Pittsburgh’s mountainous terrain that can make commuting on foot or by bike a real challenge, Especially after it was ranked as the ninth worst American city in terms of air quality, It is a classification in which carbon emissions from vehicles have played a key role. Ultimately, All these factors impose an urgent responsibility on the government to take its services to a new level and devise more sustainable options.
In this sense, Funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Pittsburgh Innovation Center, it is the result of a public-private partnership, Pittsburgh’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has moved toward Transportation as a Service (MaaS) adoption through a smart app that has gained popularity in recent years because it enables users to plan and pay for their commute across a wide range of options. Then he launched the “Pittsburgh Relocation” project, It is a comprehensive two-year program that brings together mobility options from the public and private sectors with their physical and electronic applications to help the population.
In its experimental phase, This project was launched in collaboration with five private sector providers of light transport services, These companies agreed to merge their services with the Public Transport Authority and local parking, In exchange for two years, exclusive rights to operate their respective modes of transport in the city, another company will provide training to residents on access to services. Moreover, The project includes the allocation of 50 new points as centers and stations that allow passengers to use charged electric bicycles and scooters to cover the first and last distances of the trip. It is the distance between public transport outlets and homes or destinations.
Pittsburgh isn’t the first city to design its own mobility-as-a-service platform. But it is the first to allow users a journey distributed over several parts by different means of transportation operated by various parties – competing with each other – and then collecting their fees into a common invoice to be paid in one transaction. This application will also be useful in coordinating the efforts of public and private entities, This will put Pittsburgh at the forefront of transportation technology and innovation, The project will also provide an acceptable transportation cost for low-income people, It will enable residents to combine multiple modes of transport without logging out of the app or re-entering their payment information.
Thus, the municipality is betting on the long term, that these services will reduce the culture of owning cars, It will enable residents to give up their cars in exchange for a reliable and affordable alternative that secures their requirements, It reduces greenhouse gas emissions and reduces unemployment, The project will then serve as a local gateway to an international movement geared towards sustainability.
References:
https://www.itsinternational.com/its17/its5/news/pittsburgh-brings-maas-low-income-users
