Making it easier for folk to take public transport and connect up services via digital technology and pay for the journey with ‘one single tap’ is the aim of the MaaS Investment Fund.

MaaS stands for Mobility as a Service.

The fund has opened for applications for projects which can advance the  idea of having a single digital point that travellers can access to help them make journeys by public transport. Projects have to be able to work with the existing smart technology.

£2million (spread over 3 years) has been put towards this by the Scottish Government for public, private and/or third sector organisations who wish to apply to run pilot projects.

You can find out more about this and how to apply here: MaaS Investment Fund

Scottish Government Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said:

“The concept behind MaaS is to join up multiple different modes of transport and allow users to create their own unique journey from A to B and pay for it with a simple tap on their smart device.

“MaaS fundamentally is about providing people with easy, digital access to comprehensive travel information and purchasing options, so they can be better informed as to the different ways to undertake their journey and have options on how to pay for it. “

The operation of the pilot projects will be used as an evidence base for a future digital service. It is hoped that it will encourage travellers to leave the car and use public transport instead.

Here’s an example but there are many possibilities for Scotland to develop and hopefully the MaaS Investment Fund will help to identify them

Reporter: Fiona Grahame