Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) is seeking to make transportation more accessible for 100 low-income residents via its new Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform.
The Universal Basic Mobility pilot will provide residents living in the Pennsylvania city with monthly transit subscriptions and shared mobility services.
The department says its new Move PGH platform integrates a coalition of existing and new last-mile service providers.
Spin is offering a new fleet of shared electric scooters with charging facilitated by Swiftmile. Zipcar is pledging an expanded car-share service while Scoobi is making its electric mopeds available.
Users can access these services via the Transit app or by visiting one of the 50 new mobility hubs throughout the city.
Pittsburgh mayor William Peduto says: “In Pittsburgh, too many residents are one missed bus or one flat tyre away from losing their job or missing a critical appointment. Universal Basic Mobility, using the services of Move PGH, will demonstrate that when people have a readily available transportation back-up plan they are able to access more opportunities and climb the economic ladder.”
Both initiatives will also test if reliable access to transit and a range of shared mobility options improves employment and health outcomes for low-income workers.
Grant funding will cover the cost of monthly subscriptions to Move PGH partner services for the low-income individuals for six months. The Manchester Citizens Corporation will provide these residents with 'trip coaching' to ensure they know how to use the services.
Move PGH and the Universal Basic Mobility demonstration are funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Spin, in partnership with InnovatePGH.
InnovatePGH is a public-private partnership consisting of civic leaders representing Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, the University of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
