Since 2010, when it was initiated, The Mobility and Accessibility Program (MAP) has assisted nearly 70 cities on three continents with improving transportation systems – impacting 18 million people directly while saving over 1 Million Tonnes of Carbon Emissions!
In Brazil, MAP’s primary objectives have been increasing ridership, increasing revenue, expanding social equity, and recovering after ridership dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FedEx-inspired customer surveys provide city governments insight into areas riders prioritize for improvement, such as improved BRT lanes, funding shelter upgrades through advertising, or increasing security presence at stops and on buses.
China saw remarkable results when MAP started focusing on the electrification of buses, achieving remarkable progress within three years of collaboration. Shenzhen successfully electrified 100% of its bus fleet and created a BRT system providing faster, cheaper, and more efficient services to an average daily rider of an estimated 3.1. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) pilots were then launched in Beijing and Guangzhou that combined shared mobility (car- and bike-sharing) and mass transport into trip planning, incentivizing users towards sustainable transportation choices via convenience or discounts for making sustainable transportation choices through ease of use and discounts for users making sustainable transportation choices through convenience or discounts offered for using mass transit systems.
India’s urban population is projected to increase to over 540 million by 2025, necessitating 130,000 additional buses to accommodate this surge. Bus Karo, currently active in 63 cities across India, works with transit professionals to expand transit data collection, use it for improved operation and increase equity and accessibility. Bus Karo launched a competition for young entrepreneurs in 2018, offering support and funding to three winning projects, such as switching diesel engines over to electric, installing tailpipe filters to decrease local pollution, or creating new bus lines with online reservation systems – among many others.
In Mexico, MAP has guided ten new BRT corridors and has helped reshape Mexico City’s bus system to decrease travel time by half while efficiently transporting 1.5 million passengers daily. Furthermore, at a national level, MAP has offered its expertise for creating PROGRAM (Programme de Technical and Financiere Support de Mass Transport) along with National Road Safety Policies and Proposing National Public Transport Policies to aid the management and operations of networks throughout Mexico.
FedEx and WRI have collaborated over the past decade to improve public transportation in four countries. “Our collaboration has resulted in more efficient, sustainable, and accessible public transit for millions of people across these nations,” noted Mitch Jackson, Chief Sustainability Officer at FedEx.
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with WRI for years to come,” stated Rohit Khanna, Director of the Mobility and Accessibility Program at WRI. “Together, we can work towards making public transport systems more sustainable, equitable, and efficient around the globe.”
With their ongoing partnership and collaboration, MAP and FedEx look forward to another decade of success by capitalizing on innovation, using research data, and modernizing public transport systems to serve people better and equitably while safeguarding sustainable futures.
