news: ITP awarded grant by Innovate UK to deliver urban mobility solution to increase use of public transport in Malaysia
Wednesday 29th July 2020
Innovate UK part of UK Research and Innovation recently awarded a grant to ITP and Connected Places Catapult (CPC) to conduct a feasibility study of delivering urban mobility innovation to improve customer experience and increase the use of public transport in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
Financial support for the project is being provided by the Newton-Ungku OmarFund Grand Challenge 2019 through Innovate UK.
The study will be completed in collaboration with Atur Trafik Sdn Bhd (the Malaysian Lead), funded by Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Malaysia’s technology think-tank under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Currently over 500,000 public transport journeys in Klang Valley are on buses, yet the availability and quality of information available to passengers when planning their trips or locating the nearest bus routes or stops vary considerably. While Google Maps and Moovit can be used to check real time information of more than 170 routes, not all bus services are covered.
The partnership will see the Malaysian-UK consortium conducting a feasibility study to develop an open data hub to provide greater convenience for travellers and to facilitate public transport use.
An important feature of our study is to understand the user needs in Klang Valley. We work from the principle that the proposed innovation should be driven by the needs of local people. In addition to stakeholders’ interviews and workshops, we launch an interactive, map-based community engagement website to generate greater levels of participation and engagement with community.
To date we have received more than 3000 responses telling us how we can make public transport services in Klang Valley better.
Jeh Chan from ITP explains:
“By putting passenger first, a bus open data hub can make journeys better for passengers, help authorities with better decision making and cost savings, increase revenue for operators and provide new business opportunities for the digital economy. We are delighted to work on this exciting project to help develop the first steps in creating an ecosystem of MaaS, that is visionary and will create wider economic, social and environmental benefits for Malaysia."
Dr Khalid Nur from CPC said:
“We are delighted at the Connected Places Catapult to be part of this project and have the opportunity to help UK and Malaysian businesses collaborate on introducing Mobility as a Service (MaaS) solutions in Malaysia. Tailored MaaS solutions have the potential to deliver a wide range of benefits. Therefore, understanding the user needs and the local context was key for us in creating a roadmap for a new MaaS ecosystem in the Malaysian Klang Valley region.”
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