An open API specification for standardizing data exchange between cities and mobility providers to regulate shared vehicles in the public right-of-way.
Mobility Data Specification (MDS) is an open API standard that facilitates data exchange between cities and mobility providers to regulate shared transportation services. It solves the problem of fragmented communication by providing a unified framework for managing vehicle operations, enforcing digital policies, and enabling geofencing in public rights-of-way. MDS helps cities implement effective mobility policies while giving providers clear guidelines for compliance.
Public transportation agencies, city planners, and mobility service providers (e.g., scooter, bike-share, car-share companies) who need to implement or comply with regulatory data-sharing requirements.
Developers choose MDS because it's an industry-adopted open standard that reduces integration complexity, ensures interoperability between cities and providers worldwide, and provides modular APIs that can be tailored to specific regulatory needs without vendor lock-in.
A data specification to enable right-of-way regulation, digital policy, geofencing, and two-way communication between mobility companies and public agencies worldwide for any regulated, shared vehicle.
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Cities can adopt specific APIs like Provider or Policy based on regulatory needs, reducing unnecessary implementation work, as emphasized in the Modularity section.
Used by over 200 cities and dozens of providers globally, ensuring reliability and community support, as listed in the Cities and Providers sections.
Supports micromobility, passenger services, car share, and delivery robots with dedicated specifications, making it versatile for various shared mobility types.
Includes comprehensive resources like the Privacy Guide for Cities and GDPR compliance guidance, directly addressing sensitive data handling concerns.
With six distinct APIs and multiple endpoints, setting up MDS requires significant technical expertise and coordination between agencies and providers, leading to high initial effort.
Providers must also expose GBFS feeds for micromobility and car share modes, adding an extra compliance layer beyond MDS itself, as noted in the GBFS Requirement section.
Regular releases with upgrade guidance, such as the MDS Version Guidance, mean ongoing maintenance to avoid breaking changes, which can strain resources.