In its 2018 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to a £2 million investment fund, over three years, to support the testing of the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept in Scotland.
A key MaaS concept is to provide people with easy, digital access to travel information, so they can be better informed as to the different ways to undertake their journey. This includes solutions to gather personalised travel requirements into a single travel app for example, or perhaps a service to allow unlimited access to multiple transport providers via a monthly user fee.
This supports the Scottish Government agenda for a healthier, more sustainable Scotland in that, through providing better and more comprehensive travel information, more people feel empowered to use alternative ways to travel, encouraging them out of cars and private car ownership, and so reducing carbon emissions.
MaaS Investment Fund
Established in 2019, the aim of the Fund was to test, in a practical application, the viability of MaaS in Scotland.
It supported projects that aimed to develop innovative digital data driven solutions, to provide better access to simple and flexible transport options for people, making public transport an easy alternative to using a car.