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The Shared Use Mobility Center (Chicago, IL) has announced that Tompkins County is one of six recipients selected to receive one year of free technical assistance to develop mobility-on-demand pilot projects through SUMC’s Mobility on Demand (MOD) On-Ramp program.  

The On-Ramp, through a partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, provides the opportunity for transit agencies with promising shared mobility concepts to receive expert assistance to build public-private partnerships to turn those concepts into workable projects. Tompkins County’s project is Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), which is a new approach to selling mobility services to customers and one that also helps customers get home if their regular travel plans are interrupted.

"Mobility-as-a-Service is innovative because it focuses on creating a new level of customer service for people using public transit, taxis, paratransit, rideshare, volunteer transportation, and other mobility services," says Dwight Mengel, Chief Transportation Planner with the Tompkins County Department of Social Services.  

"We will help people learn about mobility services, and there will be an option to pay for mobility services with a single monthly payment.  Also, similar to auto clubs that provide roadside assistance, we will help people get home when there is an unexpected personal emergency or when their travel is interrupted.  MaaS will improve collaboration and use of our community mobility services, and our ability to partner with local businesses and neighboring counties."

Tompkins County is the smallest and most rural of the six awardees, which also include public transit systems in Baltimore, MD; Indianapolis, IN; Memphis, TN; and San Francisco, CA.

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