Collaboration Marches Into 2022 On As bloXmove Integrates open mobility API (TOMP API)

bloXmove TOMP API codebase now published

Effective collaboration against aggregation has always been the bloXmove mantra. As a project, we’ve always maintained that stakeholders working hand-in-hand with one another will take us to the sustainable mobility future that we dream of. In this spirit of collaboration, bloXmove is thrilled to announce that it has successfully integrated the TOMP API and the codebase on this integration has just recently been published.

About TOMP API

Transport Operator Mobility-as-a-service Provider or TOMP for short, is a two-year-old initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Its original purpose was to clear the way for the deployment of mobility-as-a-service in The Netherlands. It has since morphed into an international open-source project working on creating a universal exchange of information standards that all mobility industry stakeholders can seamlessly plug into.

Love At First Instance

The bloXmove team fell in love with what the TOMP API was trying to achieve, the moment we heard of it. This love at first instance was further strengthened by the fact that neither the TOMP working group nor the governmental bodies supporting its activities attempted to dictate standards being built. Rather, market mechanisms were the biggest factor in deciding on what standards got adopted. bloXmove believes that a healthy shared mobility ecosystem can only be established by the voluntary and purpose-driven synergy among participants rather than by fiat rules or decree.

A Process In Progress

bloXmove’s involvement with TOMP and the working group of the ministry is borne out of the desire to be at the forefront of innovation in the mobility industry. The team is also keen on learning how to extend and inculcate similar developments in other important mobility regions of the world.

Over the course of two months of the pilot project, bloXmove has fully integrated the TOMP API standards for the essential functions of a mobility service (shared services like car-sharing or scooters, or bikes). The team also interacted with many stakeholders in the Dutch mobility ecosystem sharing detailed insight into our solutions and discussing the challenges they face. Emphasis was placed on the decentralized technologies bloXmove is building on, and the unique advantages they can bring to players such as XXImo, Bondi, Amaze, MobilitEU (formerly called UMOS), and the municipality of Den Bosch.

Harmen van der Kooij, Lead Mobility Track at the Dutch Blockchain Coalition says:

“bloXmove has a very powerful vision on the future of decentralised mobility. We appreciate their pro-active approach, their support for open source and open standards as well as their openness to collaborate with the wider community.

It was very inspiring to bring bloXmove’s vision to life with concrete use cases and examples in our joint Proof-of-Concept. We look forward to the next iterations of the bloXmove platform.”

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Noteworthy is also the specific form of this integration: bloXmove has packaged any TOMP-specific endpoints into an open-source component, known as the “bloXmove TOMP Gateway”. Therefore the integration of any service that already uses the TOMP framework with the bloXmove platform does not only become a very low bar but can also be done by any independent developers.

As the TOMP API works on creating communication standards between mobility stakeholders, bloXmove’s ultimate vision is a Dutch mobility ecosystem where the Mobility Blockchain Platform becomes the technological standard for user, vehicle, and company credentials while enabling fluid and automated transaction and settlement. That defined scenario is fully scalable, meaning other regions or markets can apply the architecture as blueprints as well. The premise of ‚Open Source‘ is one of three leading elements of bloxmove‘s technology roadmap in 2022. The team knows: collaborative mobility ecosystems require open and democratized protocols to succeed in the future.

Edwin van den Belt, of the TOMP Working Group has the following to say about the partnership:

“bloXmove’s approach has a lot of advantages, especially around securing personal (verifiable) information and making this information trustworthy. bloXmove did a great job showing to the world that -without breaking the bank- personal information can be verified and exchanged using the blockchain in a trustable way. “

bloXmove is grateful for the cooperation and welcome it got from the amazing people at the Dutch Blockchain Coalition and is confident that TOMP and its effective government support will lead to one of the most mature mobility ecosystems in Europe.