Novoville to run Parking services in the new Transport for West Midlands travel app!
BY LOUIS DAILLENCOURT
Novoville has been working with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) since 2020 in running the Swift Parking app, which allows motorists to use their smartphone as a convenient alternative to paying for parking by card or cash.Back then, TfWM were always clear about their ambition to offer local residents a best-in-class Mobility-as-a-service application, to bring all mobility offers into one single place.
Now, these plans have just taken a major step forward! With funding from the Department for Transport’s Future Transport Zone programme, TfWM recently announced on their website that they have appointed FOD Mobility Group to help design, develop and deliver the new wide-ranging mobility-as-a-service app using their Mobilleo MaaS platform. The resulting application will replace the existing TfWM app. It aims to deliver on the objective set out in the Local Transport Plan, such as building trust through a better user experience, integrating ticketing and information, and helping to decarbonise our transport networks.
As part of this offering, Novoville will be running the cashless parking solution, taking the service offered in the Swift Parking app into this new combined mobility app where a single account gives users access to all mobility options at their fingertips.
TfWM says “the app will offer customers a new approach to traveling around the West Midlands. Users can plan journeys, receive live travel information, book and pay for all local transport options – including buses, trains, trams, e-Scooters, walking, cycle hire, taxis, Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), car rental, car club and parking. Wherever the user wants to travel to, the app gives them the most convenient, cost-effective and sustainable option, tailored to their individual preferences”.
The app is designed to transform public and shared transport in the region by making it easier and quicker for people to get information, choose sustainable travel and find the best value fares. As TfWM are saying: “One app, one account, all bases covered!”
So, who else beyond Novoville will take part in this revolutionary app? Partners include Brompton Bike Hire and Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Car Club for biking and car renting options respectively. Other project partners include ITO World – who provide real time public transport data across the West Midlands, Euclid and Unicard – responsible for integration with our Swift smart travel scheme.
Anne Shaw, executive director of Transport for West Midlands: “TfWM is putting unprecedented investment into growing our Metro, rail, bus and active travel networks.
“As well as developing travel modes, we need to look closely at how we can make accessing transport as seamless as possible through simple plan, book and pay mechanisms. This will encourage more people to use public and shared transport, or active travel and reduce private car use.
“With this new mobility as a service platform we are looking to do just that. We are working with some of the best British tech and mobility companies to design an app which is easy to use, convenient and offers great value. This will be a one stop shop for anyone looking to travel around the West Midlands. We are delighted to bring FOD Mobility Group and other key partners on board to work on this exciting project.”
Fotis Talantzis, CEO of Novoville, added: “After a fruitful collaboration so far, it’s great to continue our work together with the West Midlands Combined Authority by integrating our mobile parking app into the local MaaS offering. We firmly believe that in order to change habits and encourage more sustainable means of travel, it’s important to have a direct relationship with those whose habits you are trying to shift: motorists. The parking app is therefore the perfect tool to generate data to inform the authority’s mode shift strategy. We look forward to deploying the app in more areas of the West Midlands and working with other transport operators to offer residents an ever more integrated transport experience, at minimum friction and emissions.”
