Evaluating the Effects of Mobility-as-a-Service Platform in Increasing Equity and Transit Ridership in Rural Areas

A smartphone-based Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) application was introduced across 13 rural counties in Southern Minnesota to enhance transit usage. The application features interactive trip planning and mobile payments, eliminating the need for users to call transit agencies during business hours to request these services. Given the scarcity of MaaS deployments in rural areas of the United States, understanding their potential impact on passenger experiences, equity, and transit ridership is crucial. This observational study investigates a core question: How does this MaaS application affect rural transit ridership and equity, particularly in areas where Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) prevails? We addressed this through three before-and-after MaaS app deployment comparison analyses, providing initial insights. First, we analyzed trip reservation data, which suggested that user call-in distributions became more even and that same-day requests increased, highlighting a shift in direct communication with the agency. Second, we compared the origins and destinations of DRT trips to examine equity implications, finding evidence of improved equitable access across various measures, especially for non-English speakers. Third, using National Transit Database ridership data, a Seasonal Autoregressive Moving Average (SARIMA) model estimated that a net additional 4.2% of unlinked trip ridership was gained in non-fixed-route transits over six months in the MaaS-deployed group, versus a marginal 0.2% in the control group. While these findings suggest a positive impact on rural transit usage and equitable access, their observational nature means they provide initial insights that warrant further empirical research for comprehensive validation.