Sometimes big things come in small packages. With the launch of its new mobile app, RAA Go, South Australia’s Royal Automobile Association (RAA) is offering an all-in-one personal transport app that lets you plan your trip based on duration, cost, safety and emissions variables.

The app, developed with support from the Micromobility Research Project™ (MRP), of which Beam is a proud member, includes shared micromobility as a key part of the solution, and we’re thrilled to be integrating our shared e-scooters into RAA Go.

Tom Graue, RAA Product and Portfolio Manager, explains how RAA Go—and micromobility—have the potential to affect South Australia’s transport landscape.

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Let’s start with how RAA Go works.

In a straightforward interface, RAA Go shows users the different travel options available for a given journey, from e-scooters to public transport. It allows users to plan and compare choices based on trip duration, cost or environmental impact.

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Environmental impact?

Yes, the app gives users a way to plan personal travel around low carbon choices. GoSmart, a function within the app, measures the estimated carbon impact of different transport options. The app shows estimated emissions data both before a user selects a particular journey option as well as on journey completion.

It’s important to note that this is new ground for us. RAA Go is among the one of the first apps in the personal mobility ecosystem to show sustainability metrics.

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So RAA Go is effectively empowering South Australians to manage their own CO2 emissions. What difference can that make?

A big one, we hope. Despite the growing number of electric vehicles, transport accounts for about one-fifth of global CO₂ emissions, projected to rise by six percent this year. In South Australia, around 29 percent of emissions come directly from transport, mostly from private trips. So there’s a lot we can do to reduce our emissions by making simple changes to the way we move around.

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How is the MRP supporting RAA Go?

The RAA has designed and developed RAA Go. Within the app, the MRP is delivering emissions calculations for the entire lifecycle of a transport mode, from vehicle manufacture through to End of Life, calculated for each individual trip completed. MRP draws its carbon emissions calculation estimates from current research, government agencies and global institutions such as the International Transport Federation, consistently adapted and updated for South Australian urban transport conditions.

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Is RAA Go part of a bigger trend toward more efficient cities?

Particularly among younger generations, behaviors are changing toward shared, on-demand and zero emissions transport options. That is, multimodal journeys with public transport, micromobility and other forms of access-based mobility.

As micromobility and apps like RAA Go continue to integrate with our existing systems for planning, booking and payment, the vision is for them both to seamlessly support getting from A to B and be a genuine substitute for owning that second car, or even a car at all.

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This is a nice vision, but what are the hurdles to widespread adoption of MaaS more broadly?

MaaS should form part of a greater vision for urban mobility, with governments needing to enable change and provide favourable operating conditions for MaaS. For example, with public transport universally considered the backbone of MaaS, there is a need for strong public and private collaboration. The digitised re-sale of public transport tickets remains a prerequisite for viable MaaS, to enable a seamless book and pay integration with all other forms of mobility, such as shared micromobility.

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