Opportunities and Challenges of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) for Rural-Metro Communities: Case Study of the Rio Grande Valley, TX

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) emerges as a potential solution to several contemporary transportation challenges. This technology aims to offer mobility options on a single application for which users can purchase the service rather than the means of transportation, integrating several mobility options, payment, and real-time information into a single application that is easily accessible. The Rio Grande Valley is a small urban and rural area challenged by automobile dependent urban form, traffic congestion from an exploding population, and limited mobility options for low-income and vulnerable people.. Few studies have explored the impact MaaS could have in a U.S. context, and even fewer have studied in small urban and rural contexts in the United States. This report demonstrates that while respondents are supportive of transit, their distances are conducive to multimodal use, and that they have easy access to smartphones and internet, that the car is almost exclusively used for travel trips. Finally, a MaaS offering in the Rio Grande Valley would face several, likely, insurmountable challenges, but that efforts should be undertaken to improve transportation options and experiences in the Rio Grande Valley.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747135

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Stearns, Amy

• Performing Organizations:

  Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2)

  University of Texas at Austin
  Austin, TX  United States  78712
• Principal Investigators:

  Zhang, Ming

• Start Date: 20220501
• Expected Completion Date: 20230930
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demand responsive transportation; Mobility; Rural areas; Small cities
• Identifier Terms: Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)
• Geographic Terms: Rio Grande (Mexico/United States); Texas
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01937931
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747135
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 23 2024 11:06AM