The Department for Transport has published a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Code of Practice to help support a shift to multi-modal travel and enable future mobility platforms to evolve in a structured manner.

The code offers specific technical and regulatory advice and guidance on the government ambition for MaaS

MaaS platforms integrate and analyse data from multiple modes of transport, such as rail, bus, taxi and cycle hire, to offer choice in journey planning to consumers.

Still very much in its infancy, MaaS could help the UK meet its decarbonisation and net zero ambitions while also providing substantial benefits and cost savings for the travelling public. These include greater efficiency of the transport system and enhanced freedom and choice for how we travel around. Better transport connectivity could also have other knock-on benefits for the public, such as greater access to healthcare and jobs, and helping to link up communities.

The new code, available here, has launched to enable these platforms to merge and mitigate any unintended consequences by taking a voluntary, guidance-based approach, rather than “introducing regulations at a time that could stifle innovation in this emerging industry”.

The code is aimed at all organisations involved in MaaS schemes and offers specific technical and regulatory advice, and guidance on the government ambition for MaaS, particularly targeted at MaaS platform providers, transport operators and local authorities, but also potentially of interest to members of the public, legal advisors and other third parties involved in designing and deploying MaaS schemes.

It also provides case studies of existing MaaS schemes, including the GOHI project in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, which allows users to plan, book and pay for an end-to-end, multimodal journey in a single transaction using their smartphone or desktop devices.

The DfT committed to a consultation on an MaaS code of practice as part of its transport decarbonisation plan. The consultation ran from 8 February 2022 to 3 May 2022 and the code of practice is based on views from the public, local authorities, transport operators and other private organisations.

The new code will be reviewed regularly and the DfT has said it will look to support MaaS in various other ways over the coming years.

The code’s publication has been welcomed by the Urban Mobility Partnership, a multi-modal transport coalition focused on improving future urban mobility, which said it marked a significant moment in the development and deployment of MaaS in the UK.

James Lancaster, chair of the partnership, added: “The Urban Mobility Partnership welcomes the publication of this important document that has the potential to be a springboard for MaaS solutions and in delivering innovative projects that can transform the way people move around and will help driving the UK forward as leaders in smart and sustainable mobility. It is vital that recommendations from the code of practice are recognised by transport planners and local authorities in their plans for MaaS solutions to ensure they are delivered in a way that places the consumer at its heart.”

To access the DfT’s MaaS Code of Practice, please click here.