Project Summary
Mobility wallets — programs that provide low-income individuals with flexible funds to pay for transportation across multiple modes — are proliferating across the United States, including multiple in California. The vast majority remain in pilot stages, and practitioners across these programs share common implementation and evaluation challenges with limited infrastructure for peer learning. This proposal formalizes an existing, organically formed network of mobility wallet practitioners and researchers into a structured Community of Practice (CoP). Over a 12-month period, the CoP will transition from an informal but growing group to a sustained peer-learning community, with bi-monthly facilitated meetings, a shared resource workspace, a program and participant directory, and a structured onboarding process for new members. Discussion topics will include common challenges such as eligibility and verification approaches, outreach strategies, wallet sizing, procurement, and evaluation design. The project will produce a trends-focused brief that synthesizes implementation and program design lessons from represented programs. By building shared infrastructure and accelerating the exchange of practical knowledge, this CoP will help mobility wallet programs move more efficiently from promising pilots to lasting, equitable transportation solutions — and lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining national community.
