Transport for Wales makes Hitachi its ‘Mobility as a Service’ partner

• Five-year partnership to digitally connect public transport journeys across Wales through a single app.
• Applying knowledge and experience from Japan’s rail network, Hitachi will create multimodal booking system that includes all public transport, bikes, e-scooters and demand-based solutions.
• Partnership exemplifies how Hitachi Rail is driving the mobility transition, making sustainable, low carbon travel easier to choose, plan and pay for.

Transport for Wales (TfW) has selected Hitachi to help digitally transform public transport within Wales, making it easier for customers to plan, book and pay for different modes of travel.

Over the next five years, Hitachi will deliver a multimodal digital booking system that will include all modes of public transport and be available to customers through a simple, user friendly app.

Rail, local bus, fflecsi and TrawsCymru services will all be available to plan and book through the one digital back-office solution from Hitachi, as well as a host of other micromobility (bikes, e-scooters) and demand-based mobility solutions already being used in Wales.

Hitachi is leveraging its digital expertise from its involvement in ticketing on the Japanese rail network and various initiatives in Italy to develop a bespoke Mobility as a Service (MaaS) product for Wales. With over 50 million multimodal ticketing transactions taking place every day using Hitachi Rail ticketing technology, the global provider of rail solutions will use its experience of digitally connecting millions of journeys daily to deliver a unique partnership with TfW.

Marie Daly, Chief Customer and Culture Officer at TfW said:

“At TfW we’re always looking to improve the customer experience and in doing this we want to attract more people to our public transport network.

“This exciting and ambitious project will deliver a digital solution that will help our customers plan point to point journeys using different modes of public transport. It’s all part of our longer-term plans and aspirations to provide our customers with one network, one timetable and one ticket.

“We look forward to working with Hitachi and bringing this global expertise to public transport in Wales.”

MaaS solutions typically focus on urban areas; however, this partnership is pioneering because it will cover the entirety of Wales, including rural areas that are often overlooked for digital innovation. Equally, MaaS will make greener, low carbon travel easier to choose, plan and pay for. This will help accelerate green transformation within cities and the Welsh countryside.

Hitachi’s extensive expertise in digital systems integration was a key factor in being chosen as TfW’s MaaS technology partner. Equally, Hitachi can call upon the Hitachi group’s digital expertise in AI and its Microsoft Azure framework agreement to ensure the system is always at the forefront of innovation, making it easy to integrate more modes of transport, expand coverage and meet growing demand.