Mobility-as-a-Service: Miracle or Misfortune?

Abstract

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a new concept that is expected to make multi-modal travel more seamless, by integrating a variety of different transport modes on a platform, accessible on demand for which monthly bundles can be bought. The hopes of MaaS are that due to the simplicity of the service, and the plethora of alternatives being offered, the need to own a car decreases. As car use starts from car ownership and public transport is regarded as the backbone of MaaS more sustainable travel should be promoted. The expected positive impacts that are being attributed to the implementation of MaaS are however not self-evident. Little empirical evidence is available that supports the effectiveness of MaaS on reaching its attributed goals. This research assesses the effects of MaaS bundles on changing travel behavior of travelers in the Netherlands. Two experiments were integrated into one, namely a stated adaptation experiment, and a stated choice experiment. It was found that the effects of MaaS bundles on improving sustainability and reducing congestion will be very limited. Bundles are currently not likely to be adopted by the people that are thought of as desirable potential adopters. Moreover, bundles are not yet conceived of as viable alternatives for car-ownership by car-owners. Nonetheless, this research showed that MaaS has the potential to change travel behavior. These results thus suggest that MaaS bundles may in fact be used as a mobility management tool in order to stimulate certain travel behavior, but that other ways of diffusion have to be considered instead of adoption by the market.