Tactran Enable
Tactran secured funding from Transport Scotland’s ‘MaaS Investment Fund’ (MIF) to deliver a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) software platform across the Tactran region known as the ‘ENABLE MaaS Platform’. The platform knits together transport routes, prices and other information from across the region together into one place and is used to power three new journey planning and booking apps and websites in the region: ‘Go NHS Tayside’ for patients and visitor travel to NHS Facilities throughout the NHS Tayside region; the ‘National Park Journey Planner’ app and website which help visitors and residents get to and travel within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park; and the ‘My D&A Travel’ app for students and staff of Dundee and Angus College.
Pilot Projects
Overviews of the three pilots
NHS Tayside Pilot
Sustainable access to health facilities with reduced anxiety for Urology outpatients at Perth Royal Infirmary – the new regional centre for Urology attracting travel from across the Tactran region and NE Fife.
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
Promoting sustainable travel choice and delivering new sustainable transport options in the south-west (Balloch, Drymen and Balmaha) – a heavily used tourist area.
Dundee & Angus College
Inclusive access to further education and college access as well as promoting sustainable inter-campus movement for staff.
Kenny Auld, Head of Visitor Services, at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority said:
“Around 79% of visitor journeys to the National Park are made by car so developing and promoting sustainable ways for people to travel to, from and around the National Park is a crucial part of our work to help tackle the climate emergency, relieve pressures on local roads and communities, and enhance visitor experience.
“The Journey Planner pilot has been a valuable tool for us and the partnership with Tactran and MAAS Scotland has enhanced our understanding of the opportunities and challenges in this area. Despite known constraints across the sustainable transport network engagement with the app from visitors has surpassed expectations and initial feedback on users’ experiences has been positive.”
NHS Tayside’s Director of Performance and Activity Hazel Barnett said:
“I am delighted to see the Go NHS Tayside pilot rolled out across Tayside. The initial phase of the pilot at PRI has shown that it has helped make travel easier for patients. The website means people can see all the potential travel options available in one place allowing them to make an informed choice. We know travelling to hospital can cause some worry for people so this website will hopefully help improve patients’ experiences of visiting hospital.”
What is MaaS?
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is all about combining all transport modes available in an area into one easy to use app or other service. This is to allow users to plan and book multi-modal journeys from one touchpoint. MaaS goes beyond integrated ticketing of just public transport services by including taxis, bike hire, car clubs, walking, cycling and more.
The Project
- Develop a Tactran region wide ‘MaaS platform’ which brings together real time journey planning data, booking/ticketing and the payment systems of public, active and shared mode transport operators where possible.
- Co-tailor (the look and function) and pilot three apps powered by the MaaS infrastructure platform with three ‘service lead’ organisations: NHS Tayside, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and Dundee and Angus College.
All of this together allows and incentivises (through rewards for Dundee and Angus College) a user to confidently and more easily travel sustainably within the Tactran region. The specific target users, scope and timing for the three pilots are:
- NHS Tayside – Sustainable access to health facilities with reduced anxiety for Urology outpatients at Perth Royal Infirmary – the new regional centre for Urology attracting travel from across the Tactran region and NE Fife.
- Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park – launch to be confirmed: Promoting sustainable travel choices and delivering new sustainable transport options in the south west – a heavily used tourist area.
- Dundee & Angus College – Inclusive access to further education and college access as well as promoting sustainable inter-campus movement for staff.
What does it actually do?
The user journey in the app starts with planning a journey. By entering a destination (and origin – if different from the current location) the user will be presented with a range of travel options, including multi-modal options. Beside each travel option will be a personalised price tailored to that user and the number of rewards points available for choosing each option. The price shown will reflect the user’s status and entitlements such as concessionary travel passes, railcards, student discounts etc.
When the user has decided which travel option they want to take, they can get all the details, costs etc for their chosen journey within the app. We are also piloting rewards as part of the Dundee and Angus College app. This is currently being finalised but we intend for users to collect points which can then be redeemed against prize draws or at local independent retailers across the Tactran region who have signed up to the rewards scheme.
The Tactran Enable project is being delivered by a number of technical partners including:
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