From Paper to Practice: The 2024 State of MDS User Survey

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July 31, 2024

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OMF Staff

Since the Mobility Data Specification (MDS) was created in 2018, the way that cities manage and regulate mobility services has changed a lot. When MDS was first introduced, city streets and sidewalks were cluttered with shared scooters and bikes, and cities had an immediate need to bring order to the public right of way. OMF responded to this need with MDS, an open source specification for managing shared mobility.

MDS—“Mobility Data Specification”—is a digital tool that helps cities to better manage transportation in the public right of way. MDS standardizes communication and data-sharing between cities and private mobility providers, such as e-scooter and bike share companies. This allows cities to share and validate policy digitally, enabling vehicle management and better outcomes for residents. Plus, it provides mobility service providers with a framework they can re-use in new markets, allowing for seamless collaboration that saves time and money.

Over the past 6 years, MDS has grown from an idea on paper to a globally adopted tool to collect and analyze data from mobility service providers. It’s also become the de facto method for cities to communicate their mobility rules and regulations to providers of these services. Hundreds of cities and public agencies around the world have used the specification to manage shared mobility programs and make improvements to transportation systems for the public’s benefit. Earlier this year, OMF surveyed cities on how they’re using MDS today. The goal of this survey was to understand how MDS is being used, guide future development, allocate resources, and better understand how the OMF can support the adoption of new versions. The last survey of MDS users was done in 2021, and much has changed since then. Respondents to the survey came from North America, Europe, and Australia. From Providence to Paris, they represent cities ranging from the relatively small to the very large.

MDS was originally developed to provide cities with a standard framework to collect and analyze data from e-scooters and bike-sharing services. More recently, this framework has been expanded to include additional modes like car-sharing, TNCs, taxis, delivery robots, and paratransit. MDS data has been used by cities to meet key policy outcomes around safety, sustainability, equity, access, and more. Some examples cited in public city reports include:

Increasing equitable opportunity: Cities use MDS to establish equity programs that promote vehicle availability, especially to residents in historically underserved areas. MDS data allows cities to measure compliance with these policies, evaluating vehicle availability in specific locations that serve low-income populations, and comparing service quality between high and low-income neighborhoods.

Improving public spaces by ensuring public safety and compliance: To protect public safety, cities limit shared micromobility vehicles’ speed and where they may operate or park, especially in pedestrian-heavy areas. MDS allows cities to measure compliance with these rules and take action when operators do not comply.

Responsive infrastructure planning for improved safety: Route data from MDS allows cities to improve safety through better infrastructure planning, and measure the effect of their investments. Cities rely on MDS data to determine where they need to construct safe riding infrastructure, where to place parking for shared mobility vehicles, and to measure how infrastructure and policy changes alter where and how people ride.

Supporting improved access to public transit: Cities employ MDS to understand how micromobility supports public transit access, and to encourage that synergy to further their climate and equity goals. Precise location data is necessary to understand if a trip originated or ended at a transit station, and to make appropriate provisions for micromobility vehicles at those stations.

Since the last State of MDS survey in 2021, the OMF has hit two key milestones. First, the OMF released MDS version 2.0 which supports management of new and emerging modes of transportation. This includes passenger services like taxis and TNCs, delivery robots, and car share. Second, the OMF has seen increased adoption with more cities using MDS, upgrading to new versions, and using the spec more fully. An example of this is the MDS Policy API. This API allows cities to publish their shared mobility regulations for use by mobility providers and end users. In 2021 just 15% of cities reported using the Policy API. In 2024 that number has increased to 68%.

Data provided by MDS can be leveraged in a number of ways. Research is a common use case for MDS data along with the creation of reports and visualizations of mobility trends, usage statistics or other data. Cities are able to use MDS data to inform policy and understand the impact of shared mobility on their transportation system.

While all modes modeled in MDS were represented in survey responses, the primary use case for the specification remains e-scooters and bike-sharing, with 93% of cities saying they use MDS for e-scooters and 69% saying they use it for bikes. Interest in expanding use of the specification is strong, with many cities reporting they are planning to use MDS for additional modes in the future.

Some modes have less current or planned use, as demonstrated in the above chart, because jurisdictions don’t always have the modes operating on their streets (for example, very few cities have delivery robots or robotaxis) or don’t believe they have the authority to regulate them – this is to be expected compared to the ubiquity of scooters and bike share. There’s obvious momentum around applying the spec to new modes. But, there’s still room to grow. Using MDS to manage new modes requires users to upgrade to v2.0. However, a majority of survey respondents reported using previous versions of the specification. With the release of v2.0, the specification has matured, offering a more comprehensive feature set. This means there’s less need for new releases, which gives cities and mobility providers adequate time to upgrade to the latest version.

While a majority of cities report using older versions of the specification, 29% also reported using multiple versions concurrently. Use of versions prior to v2.0 is highest among cities using MDS for scooters and bikes. In nearly all cases these cities say that they are planning to upgrade to v2.0 in the future, although they face challenges around capacity, staffing, and budget. OMF continues to leverage our unique, open source model to help cities tackle these challenges. For example, in 2023, OMF created and launched the SMART Curb Collaborative – a group of cities working together on curb management, reducing congestion, enhancing livability, and improving safety and equity on city streets. The SMART Curb Collaborative is an example of how we are trying to help cities address similar problems, but we have more work to do to apply this model to MDS.

Many of the lessons learned during the creation of MDS were applied to the development of the Curb Data Specification (CDS). More than half of survey respondents reported that they plan to use CDS in the future. In conclusion, the journey from the inception of MDS to its widespread adoption underscores its critical role in modern mobility management. As cities continue to leverage MDS to enhance policy outcomes, manage diverse transportation modes, and improve public spaces, the ongoing evolution of this tool highlights its growing importance. The insights from the latest survey affirm the value of MDS while also pointing to opportunities for further advancements and broader implementation, ensuring that cities worldwide can continue to innovate and enhance mobility for their residents.