TfGM works in partnership with Mobilleo to power its IMOVE MaaS solution for Greater Manchester

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the local government body responsible for delivering Greater Manchester’s transport strategy and commitments. With more than 5.6 million journeys made across Greater Manchester’s transport network each day it’s TfGM’s job to keep the city-region moving and growing.

‍

TfGM is directly accountable to elected politicians, delivering the transport policies set by the Greater Manchester Mayor and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. It is responsible for investing taxpayer’s money in improving transport services and facilities, to support the regional economy.

Manchester was one of five European Living Labs, chosen alongside Berlin, Gothenburg, Madrid and Turin to participate in the IMOVE innovation project. The ground-breaking project, which launched in 2017 and concluded in November 2019, was funded by Horizon 2020.

‍

IMOVE’s main objective was to accelerate deployment and unlock the scalability of ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS) schemes in Europe, ultimately paving the way for a ‘roaming’ service for MaaS users on a cross-border European level.

‍

TfGM were responsible for co-ordinating the IMOVE pilot project for Greater Manchester, which went live in September 2019 for a three month period. The pilot project focused on encouraging workers at Manchester Airport to leave their cars at home and commute to work each day using public transport, as well as shared and active travel modes instead.

‍

As a technology-driven project, TfGM needed to source an established MaaS platform to power the IMOVE project, with a proven track record of success.

‍

The chosen platform needed to consolidate multiple modes of transport into a white labelled app, allowing users to plan, book and pay for their journeys quickly and conveniently in one place.

Following an in-depth procurement exercise, TfGM chose the industry-leading Mobilleo MaaS platform to underpin the project. A bespoke version of Mobilleo was developed to consolidate various private and public transport providers in and around Greater Manchester, into a single IMOVE branded app using a series of direct API integrations.

‍

The IMOVE app provided Manchester Airport staff with instant access to book Enterprise car hire and car club modes, Stagecoach bus services, trains, Metrolink trams and TfGM’s Local Link mini-bus service. Walking and cycling were included as active travel mode options, with public transport options such as buses being prioritised over car clubs and car hire when users were planning their journeys.

The insight captured by the IMOVE app during the pilot phase of the project helped TfGM learn about the benefits of MaaS and any potential barriers to its effective deployment on a regional scale.

‍

Post project analysis revealed that 677 bus journeys and 484 tram journeys were made during the pilot, alongside travel by train, Car Club and TfGM’s Local Link mini-bus service. The journey planner, along with train and tram booking were the most used functionalities. The majority of participants were either satisfied or very satisfied with the IMOVE platform and the service they received.

‍

Their Perceptions of public transport also improved with 100% of participants agreeing that MaaS would benefit Greater Manchester and 75% stating they would cycle, jog or walk to work if offered incentives.

‍

Mobilleo is now working with TfGM on a phase two pilot, building on what was achieved with IMOVE. The project will focus on implementing a deeper integration into some of the transport services and how they can be rolled out to a wider population in Greater Manchester.