National award for Go-Hi – the pioneering transport project for the Highlands and Islands
Issued by HITRANS
A pioneering project to improve accessibility to transport services for residents and visitors in and around the Highlands and Islands has won a top national award.
The GO-HI Maas (Mobility as a Service) Project, promoted by HITRANS, the strategic transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands, was judged to be the Most Innovative Transport Project of the Year at the annual Transport Times Scottish Transport Awards held in Glasgow (22 June).
GO-HI integrates multiple transport and travel options into a single technology platform, providing journey planning capabilities, easy access to travel information, more reliable journey planning, in-app ticketing, hotel booking and a hassle-free payment system.
Developed in partnership with market-leading MaaS technology firm FOD Mobility, it allows users to plan, book and pay for an end-to-end, multimodal journey within one application using their smartphone or desktop devices.
The platform offers instant access to buses, trains, ferries, HI Bike e-bikes, taxis, car clubs, car rental, folding bikes, flights and hotels to allow users to plan bespoke door-to-door journeys with ease.
GO-HI has seamless booking and payment integrations with a range of leading travel and transport partners. Project partners include Enterprise Car Club and Car Hire, Brompton Bike Hire, Stagecoach Bus, ScotRail, Loganair, Northlink Ferries, Liftango MOVE Flexi (DRT), Inverness Taxis, Leeds University, Arcadis and SkedGo.
It is funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland’s MaaS Investment Fund. The MaaS Investment Fund was established as a Programme for Government commitment by Transport Scotland to test the ability of MaaS to deliver real benefit that incentivises sustainable travel.
Ranald Robertson, Director of HITRANS, is delighted with the award and the national recognition of the project.
He said: “Go-Hi is addressing Government ambitions to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging a modal shift from private cars to cycling, walking, public transport car club and foot passenger ferry travel as a better alternative. It also aims to reduce the feeling of isolation among those without access to a car, and create healthier lifestyles by improving the sustainable travel choices people can make in the region including active travel opportunities.
“The project supports the delivery of Transport Scotland’s National Transport Strategy, which recognises the importance of embracing new technologies that are beneficial to society. The technology is helping Scotland to become an international leader in Smart Mobility by supporting digital innovation within Scotland and offering good practice in the application of MaaS for other similar regions. Since its launch, the ground-breaking Go-Hi project has made a significant contribution in improving accessibility to multiple transport services for residents and visitors in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands region. It is the UK’s largest MaaS deployment to date, covering a huge region that also includes multiple cities and towns.”
There have been more than 3,000 unique downloads and registrations of the app so far, with plans to launch a mobility credits scheme this year in conjunction with leading mobility charity, Motability. The scheme will provide funded access to mobility for individuals qualifying for Motability support.
The Go-Hi platform is also to be used by The Highland Council to provide alternative mobility options to their employees for commuting and business-related travel. This will simplify current processes and reduce administrative burden relating to travel.
For more information about Go-Hi visit www.gohi.app.