Online Portal for Sharing Insights on Universal Basic Mobility and Mobility Wallets

Research Team: Angela Sanguinetti (lead), Caroline Rodier, Mollie D'Agostino, and Brian Harold

UC Campus(es): UC Davis

Problem Statement: In California and elsewhere, pilot programs have been exploring the concepts of Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) and mobility wallets. These programs offer bundles of free or reduced-cost transportation and shared mobility services to help people meet essential needs like employment, food, and healthcare. UBM aims to address transport poverty, often defined as households spending over 10% of their income on transportation (the average American household spends 16%). The recent proliferation of UBM pilots underscores the need for a rapid exchange of insights and lessons learned to develop best practices. Traditional academic channels for research evaluation tend to be slow and may not reach the audiences who need this information the most. There's a pressing need for direct and high-impact communication channels to facilitate the sharing of insights from UBM and mobility wallet program evaluations. This way, cities, industry, non-profit organizations, and academic partners involved in these programs can learn from each other and expedite the development of best practices.

Project Description: This project will develop a website to share learnings from UBM and mobility wallet program evaluations and implement outreach activities (e.g., webinars, mailings, press releases). The target audience for the website are local agencies and other entities that are actively considering, developing, implementing, or evaluating similar programs.

Status: In Progress

Budget: $47,361