mobility_app – Unwire

How our mobility app can boost microtransit

Many people would like to use fixed-route public transit more, but there is often a barrier to getting to where those options are available. This is where on-demand microtransit can step in.

Microtransit is defined as a type of on-demand transport that offers flexible routing and scheduling of smaller shared vehicles. It sounds simple, but its positive impacts on the community, the environment and public transit are significant.

Public Transit that comes to you

The concept of curb to curb transit means that people don’t need to walk to a spot to catch the transport, it comes to them and takes them to where they need to go. The ease of getting to a transport hub means that the integration of on-demand microtransit into an existing public transit system has a positive impact on the ridership of more traditional public transport.

There are areas, known as transit deserts, where the low population density means that traditional fixed routes are not viable for the transit agency. Equitable access to public transit is an issue in these areas. Yet, people living there want and need to use public transport to get to around daily, whether that is for school, work or socialising. Microtransit makes using public transit much more convenient and flexible as the services are on-demand so operate when and where the riders need them. It also offers greater mobility options for low-income riders who often live in areas poorly served by fixed routes services.

Positive impacts on the environment

The impact of microtransit on the environment and people’s health should not be underestimated, especially on smaller, local streets. Increased use of microtransit reduces the number of cars on the road, especially for shorter journeys, and this has a positive impact on the air quality and people’s health. Research in the European Heart Journal in 2019 found that 8.8 million people worldwide are dying early due to exposure to air pollution, much of which come from traffic fumes. Recent research found that microtransit can decrease traffic between 15-30%.

Deceasing car use to get to transport hubs also reduces the need for large areas of parking freeing up those spaces for other uses. There are 2 billion parking spots in the US for about 200 million cars.

The answer is tech

But how can people be encouraged to access microtransit easily, conveniently and more importantly, affordably? The answer is tech. A mobility platform, such as Unwire’s, means that the transit agency or city can integrate on-demand microtransit easily and offer a user-friendly way of booking the transit from a phone. Unwire’s mobility platform offers multimodal trip planning which fully integrates on-demand microtransit booking and scheduling services and incorporates this into the remainder of the rider’s transit journey. The app allows the rider to plan, book and pay for the entire trip from start to finish all in one place. With fare capping built into the platform, it means that the service is included as part of a broader payment and this ensures that riders will never spend more than the total cost of a monthly pass in a calendar month.

Unwire’s mobile mobility platform is a white label solution, and any transit agency large or small can get up and running rapidly with no need for substantial implementation projects and without any large upfront investments.