DerbyGO - Case Study

Customer Overview

Established in 2019 KINTO is a start-up backed by Toyota, the largest automotive brand in the world. KINTO offers a seamless experience of different modes of transport and payments, including car sharing, corporate car pooling, all-inclusive leasing, flexible car subscriptions and multi-mobility, for all needs and all abilities in one inclusive solution.

With 2,500 unique retailers across Europe, KINTO is partnering with cities and other brands to deliver true value and innovation in the mobility space. They are paving the way for Toyota to transition from an automotive company into a mobility one, helping customers get to their destination, no matter where they are going or what their mode or method is.

The Challenge

KINTO entered into a collaboration arrangement with Derby City Council in March 2021 to support its future mobility programme. The council was awarded £500,000 of Future Transport Zone funding by the Department for Transport to deploy a live-lab Mobility as a Service (MaaS) scheme within the Derby city region.

Initially operating as an 18-month trial, the aim of the pilot project is to enhance the mobility experience of staff and students at Derby College and the University of Derby (UoD) travelling to and from campus each day.

The successful outcomes of the project are to reduce single occupancy car journeys, increase the use of inter-related travel modes, increase the distance covered by active travel modes and reduce the emissions relating to commuter journeys to and from primary sites.

The Solution

KINTO chose FOD Mobility Group to develop a bespoke white label version of its award-winning Mobilleo MaaS platform for the project. The DerbyGo (by KINTO) platform provides users with easy and immediate access to journey planning, booking and payment via a single app on their smartphone.

The app initially focuses on the rail and bus services serving Derby and the university and college sites, providing real-time route information, ticket booking and payment.

As a live lab, the trial will be constantly refined for ease-of-use and functionality, with further transport services, such as taxis and other bus operators, being added to enable more efficient, connected journey planning.

DerbyGo will also be the first MaaS platform to integrate transport accessibility information for people with special mobility needs. The app will provide a direct link to Sociability, a UK startup business which collects, maintains and shares detailed, reliable and accurate accessibility information for local venues.

DerbyGo users can research the accessibility features of their destination at the same time as ensuring that their transport mode of choice is equally accessible, all within the app.

The Result

The DerbyGo app was launched in September 2021 coinciding with the arrival of around 10,000 new students on campus, together with thousands more moving to the city for the first time, following a year of remote studies due to the pandemic.

These students became ideal first adopters for the service, maximising the early uptake of the app. The steady growth in user numbers and the range of services available is helping to reduce the number of car journeys being made, easing congestion, improving air quality and reducing the city’s carbon emissions.

The DerbyGo app allows digital parking management and the introduction of electronic payment.

Key developments targeted for the app’s evolution include monitoring parking availability and potentially introducing pre-booking priority for cars with more than one person on board, encouraging the uptake of car sharing.

The future roadmap will also look at access to car sharing and access to rental cars at specific locations. Micromobility services, such as e-bike and e-scooter schemes are also planned for integration within the app in Spring 2022. Throughout the 18-month pilot, performance will be monitored, allowing changes and improvements to be made promptly and effectively.

Professor Chris Bussell, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at UoD, and Chair of the Derby Climate Change Commission, commented:

“We are delighted to be working with Derby City Council, Toyota and KINTO on this exciting pilot project. Our students will be trialling the DerbyGo App as they travel around our city and the data their journeys generate will help us to understand how traffic flow and mobility can be enhanced, better planned and integrated, to improve the quality of life for all of us who live and work here.

“Working with Toyota UK, KINTO and Derby City Council enables us to create a ‘living-lab’, researching and refining how the DerbyGo app works in a real-world setting to connect users with our sites, the city centre and its other transport hubs. It also complements our new sustainable travel plan, which encourages our staff, students and visitors to make positive choices about using sustainable transport for their journeys to and from our sites.”