VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – What if you could use just one app to coordinate car-sharing, transit, taxis, and bikes?

A local mayor is giving his thoughts about the idea being developed by a company called MaaS Finland.

Port Coquitlam Mayor, Greg Moore says something like this could be a game-changer in how we get around, adding the hardest part of a trip for him is getting from his house to a main transit station.

“That community shuttle, the buses trying to get into there, that’s the hardest part. So if there was the ability on that last kilometre to be able to use a car sharing or a ride sharing or a bike sharing or some other mode — taxi or Uber — to do that last kilometre when I missed the bus, because for us it might come every half an hour, every hour in the evening, that would make it way more convenient for people to use the transit system, because once you get into the backbone of the transit system, whether it’s a rapid bus or a rail project, it works extremely well to get you around the region. It’s when you leave that and get on to other modes that it starts to become a little bit of a challenge from transfers and that sort of thing. So, I think this really could alleviate a lot of headaches for people trying to use other modes than the single occupancy car,” he says.

Moore was asked whether the revenue from this could help solve some of the funding issues for transit projects in the region.

“Yeah, I guess we could look at it that way. I think part of it is to look and make it more convenient so people are using other modes, and if they do use transit more, then transit gets more revenue which helps offset the cost of delivering the service, so that’s a good thing. But I think with transit and actually just getting around in general, there’s a convenience factor to it. People will drive their car because it’s more convenient, and so if we can make other modes work together and make it as convenient as the car, then I think people will take it because they’ll save money and probably have a better experience getting around this region.”

The app would allow you to pay as you go or pay a flat, monthly fee to use multiple forms of transport.

Moore heard from MaaS Finland at a recent forum.