Since the late 2010s, KCC has recognised that the is a demand for a transport platform which would enable service users to purchase multi-modal tickets and plan journeys without the need for multiple apps and multipole tickets for each form of public transport. It was out of this demand which led KCC to develop the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform. The major goal of this platform was to simplify the number of different transport and ticketing apps into a single service which could provide tickets for a wide range of transport services such as train and buses. The app is also designed to offer car share and bike hire schemes to promote the use of greener travel options over the use of private car use. The current project will only cover the Ebbsfleet area and some parts of Gravesend and Dartford. However, it is the intention of KCC to expand this area to cover the wider Kent area.
Development for the service began in 2018 with the scheme being developed with a consortium of Kent members and project managers. Once the initial idea was approved, KCC sought to fund the project via external packages provided by central government. This funding was secured through the BSIP funding package; a wider pot of funding which was designed to improve bus and transport services across the country.
MaaS is currently in the process of selecting a supplier who will operate the app on behalf of KCC. This process is expected to end in October 2023 to ensure that the supplier has the correct expertise to develop and operate the app itself. This process will then be followed by a mobilisation and trial run of the service on our Fastrack network. This trial is designed to ensure that the bugs are worked out of the system before the wider launch in the Ebbsfleet/Gravesend area. The wider rollout of the platform will take place by Mid November 2025. This will be accompanied by an additional Behaviour and Marketing campaign to promote the campaign and asses its impact.
For more information on Mobility as a service platforms as a whole, please feel free to read though the government document released in 2018
