Asia Mobiliti, Nippon Koei & ASAP Mobility selected by JETRO to demonstrate multimodal mobility proof of concept

• Partnership aims to foster collaborations between Japanese & Asian firms
• Solutions to address first-mile/last-mile connectivity challenge for public transport

Malaysia’s leading mobility-as-a-service company, Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) and Japan’s No.1 international engineering consultants, Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. (Nippon Koei) and its Malaysian subsidiary ASAP Mobility Sdn Bhd (ASAP Mobility), have been selected to demonstrate a mobility proof of concept (POC) project aimed at delivering cutting-edge digital experiences for public transit in Kuala Lumpur.

In a joint statement, the parties said the selection, made by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) under the auspices of the Asia Digital Transformation Promotion Programme (ADX Programme), is aimed at forging partnerships between Japanese companies and their counterparts in Asian markets by leveraging digital technology and spurring the creation of new industries that address societal needs.

It said the POC to be demonstrated involves three components. This includes:

1. The development of a multimodal journey planning platform that integrates services operated by Prasarana, Malaysia’s largest public transport operator, with Asia Mobiliti’s Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT) service;
    
2. The development of an account-based ticketing (ABT) system to support fare payments for the multimodal service, and
    
3. The development of an operational dashboard for data-driven public transport operation optimisation.

According to the parties, multimodal transit combines the use of multiple modes of public transportation such as DRT, MRT, LRT and buses within a single journey to provide commuters with the best options to get from their origin to their destination.

Such journeys integrated with DRT addresses the first-mile/last-mile connectivity challenge for public transport, they said.

They parties added that the use of artificial intelligence in DRT systems that intelligently assigns vehicles to passengers within a geo-fenced zone by factoring waiting time, travel time and traffic conditions provide for robust and reliable end-to-end public transit journeys within a city.

Therefore, the goal of the POC is to demonstrate that multimodal journey planning, DRT services and multimodal ABT, working in concert, is a viable holistic solution that can increase public transit ridership through the deep integration of first-mile/last-mile with the "middle- mile" services of conventional public transportation, they said. 

Ramachandran Muniandy (pic, right), CEO and co-founder of Asia Mobiliti said Malaysia has experienced the perennial traffic congestion and first-mile/last-mile problems that have plagued Kuala Lumpur for far too long.

“Leveraging off the positive findings we’ve gathered from our on-going DRT pilot with Prasarana, we can demonstrate that we have the ability to solve these challenges using technology and data, solutions that can help Malaysian cities become more sustainable. This also marks the next stage in our growing relationship with Nippon Koei, a very exciting Japanese-Malaysian collaboration,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kunihiro Uzawa (pic, left), general manager of Nippon Koei Singapore Branch said, as the agency tasked with managing the overall POC project, it is pleased to partner with Asia Mobiliti as its vision for a better Malaysia fits with the firm’s own philosophy of using its technical expertise and passion to build a social infrastructure that is safe and reliable. 

“We are pleased that Asia Mobiliti and Nippon Koei are able to showcase what we can do in Malaysia, a prospect that we hope could be replicated elsewhere in Asia,” he added.

The ADX programme covers expenses for demonstration projects by ASEAN and Japanese companies jointly to contribute to solving the socio-economic challenges in the ASEAN region with innovative technologies such as digital tech. Through these projects, Japanese companies proactively contribute to innovation and enhance the collaboration between governments and private sector in the region.

The results of the POC will be used as a reference site for a city-wide roll out of mobility- as-a-service (MaaS) that could be implemented in the near future. MaaS refers to an integrated approach to urban transportation where data from different transportation services is integrated onto a single platform. 

Both application providers and the end users can have access to this data via a digital interface for journey planning, booking and ticketing purposes.