The Miles Consultancy is gearing up to launch its Mobility iQ “super app” in March, which aggregates bookable ground transport content from around the world and calculates related carbon emissions.
The app, which had been scheduled to launch in 2022, will “create transparency and give users the ability to oversee their mobility footprint,” said Stuart Donnelly, president of mobility at The Miles Consultancy.
In its initial phase, the app will track users' movement across all journey types – whether it’s rent, ride or rail – to display time travelled and distance covered, while phase two will aggregate all bookable modes and suppliers, including public transport. In its final phase the app will display overall cost and, via a partnership with Thrust Carbon, total carbon emissions linked to ground transport.
“Using a combination of algorithms/AI and client rules, [the app will] help steer employees when they move from A to B to C to do so sustainably, cost effectively and efficiently,” Donnelly said.
The app, which is currently being piloted in the UK, EU and US, will be made available directly to corporate travel managers with a monthly app subscription fee and a “very small” transaction fee per booking.
As well as the ability to configure travel policy rules, Donnelly said white label options are “currently being discussed with different players across the ecosystem”.
“We could however see Mobility iQ being offered up as a complimentary service to the TMCs to integrate into their tech to offer to customers,” he added.
Users will have the ability to add and assign a default vehicle before the app automatically determines a taxi ride and will also be able to edit the engine type of rental vehicles to change the average fare default to the actual.
In the case of rail, a default cost and carbon figure will be set by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), but can also be edited.
Gamification will also be inbuilt to reward users for making “smarter and more sustainable” choices.