Authors: Elliot Martin, Ph.D., Ziad Yassine, Adam Cohen, Susan Shaheen, Ph.D., Les Brown
Date: November 2020
Abstract:
This report evaluates the Valley Metro Mobility Platform project, part of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox program. Valley Metro currently provides a Valley Metro RidekickTM mobile application for its users that features trip planning for light rail and buses. The Mobility Platform project aimed to develop new trip planning features and an integrated payment system for public and private transportation in an updated pilot app called Pass2Go, but integration with private transportation was not achieved and the app was discontinued, eventually to be replaced by another app. The evaluation of the project explored its effect on user travel and planning times, accessibility, and connectivity to different modes of transportation. Overall, the results showed that the Pass2Go app was an enhancement over the existing RidekickTM app. The evaluation supported hypotheses that wait and planning times were reduced, planning methods were improved, and that the platform enhanced accessibility and connectivity to different transportation options. Also, the project provided a platform for other public transportation agencies to exchange travel information and pro–duced lessons learned. Most hypotheses within this evaluation were supported and, overall, the project was found to perform very well.
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