TransitScreen, which provides real-time information displays for near-by transportation options, has launched a tool to measure local mobility for any address in the U.S. or Canada.
MobilityScore generates a summary score from 0 (no available services) to 100 (excellent mobility) based on access to four service modes: public transit, ride-hailing, bicycle-sharing, and car-sharing.
“Transportation is continually evolving, yet as new choices including ridesharing, bike-sharing and car-sharing emerge, tools for measuring transportation access have not kept up,” said Matt Caywood, TransitScreen co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “We created MobilityScore as the solution, a common framework that is future proof and can incorporate current and future transportation choices.”
Naturally I checked my own address. Despite four bus routes and a bikeshare station within a 10-minute walk from my house, MobilityScore gave my address a rating of only 50, indicating fair mobility. The score breakdown included ride-hailing (97%) and transit (3%). Bikeshare didn’t register in my score at all, either because the app is still in beta or the score uses a smaller radius than I do to calculate mobility. Currently the tool is available in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. and the five largest in Canada.
MobilityScore appears to have some similarities with Walk Score, at least to the end user. The latter tool rates addresses based on walkability, access to transit, and ease of bicycling.
Image source: MobilityScore
