Scottish Government Commits to £2m MaaS Investment Fund

During the Programme for Government announcement on 4th September 2018, The First Minister announced that the Scottish Government would invest up to £2m to support the testing of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Scotland.

This exciting initiative commits to up to £2m in funds over 3 years from 2019-21 for a MaaS Investment Fund to fund projects to grow the evidence base on the potential for the upscale and delivery of MaaS solutions in Scotland.

The full text, replicated below, can be found on P40 of the PFG document which can be found here.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to a MaaS delivery fund is a truly wonderful result and testament to all the hard work from everyone involved in MaaS Scotland, as we have gathered momentum and built the largest Mobility as a Service cluster in Europe.

MaaS Scotland aims to be the champion of future mobility in Scotland, leading the conversation and highlighting the social, environmental and economic benefits of MaaS to key stakeholders, and securing Scotland’s future as one of the leading locations in the world for Intelligent Mobility.

Future of transport – Intelligent Mobility

We will invest up to £2 million to support the testing of ‘Mobility as a Service’ in Scotland. This concept has the potential to transform the way we use transport – making public and shared transport options as desirable as owning our own car. Models being developed include using our personal smart devices, such as phones and watches, to get personalised travel information, ticketing and payment for transport all through one portal incorporating all modes. We want to facilitate growth and innovation in this area, building on strengths and skills already in Scotland.

This funding will be available from 2019 and will complement our existing work on smart ticketing. We will also encourage and support the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles or Driverless Cars. We will hold a summit in 2018 and explore with others how Scotland can best capitalise on the opportunities and benefits of this technology.

Mobility as a Service

MaaS represents a step change in the world of travel, driven by both technological advances and changes in people’s needs and values. With increasingly complex and fast-moving lifestyles, people want personalised services that are convenient, carefree and easy to use. MaaS fulfils users’ needs for mobility with a wide range of on-demand, tailor-made transport services. With convenience at its heart, MaaS brings all means of travel, transport providers and payment options together into one single service, giving customers instant access to all public transport, from trains and trams to buses and bikes.

About MaaS Scotland

MaaS Scotland is the largest MaaS Cluster in Europe, and champion of the future of mobility in Scotland.
A joint venture between Technology Scotland and ScotlandIS, MaaS Scotland is leading the conversation and highlighting the social, environmental and economic benefits of MaaS to key stakeholders.

About Technology Scotland

Technology Scotland is the Industry Association for businesses and organisations involved in Enabling Technology & Smart Mobility sectors in Scotland. Enabling technologies and Smart Mobility underpin significant advancements in products and service performance and capabilities, and will help deliver the step changes in efficiency and productivity required in the modern world.
Technology Scotland provides a range of services including events, workshops, Special Interest Groups, and collaborative networking, to help our members improve their global competitiveness, solve problems, drive economic development, and build supply chains.

About ScotlandIS

ScotlandIS represents and supports businesses and organisations creating & delivering digital products and services. We underpin a thriving community which brings together the ambition, talent and expertise across our industry to grow the digital economy
As the trade body for Scotland’s vibrant digital economy, our membership includes technology businesses across a wide range of sectors covering telecoms, software, IT services, infrastructure specialists and digital media companies, in addition to universities, public sector, financial services, energy industries and specialist providers.