Mobility as a Service

Abstract

Mobility-as-a-Service, known simply under the acronym of MaaS, can be described as an integration of information, reservation and payment for a wide variety of transport modes into a single service. In that respect, MaaS is not a transport mode in a traditional sense. Through technological innovation, it became a viable solution in the 2010s, capturing the attention and interest of entrepreneurs, policymakers and researchers alike. Through research and trials, we now have a much clearer understanding of what MaaS is, what it can do for us and what are potential difficulties that need to be addressed or pitfalls to watch out for. Results on what would encourage travellers to use MaaS are often inconsistent, largely dependent on the specific national/regional context or the design of the service itself. Perhaps the most conclusive outcome is that effective and efficient public transport is essential for any MaaS scheme. It can and should be seen as a baseline, to which other (shared) services can then be coupled. Given the strong impact of context and design, it is not surprising that the implications are highly variable, with multiple studies stating what may or may not occur under specific circumstances. The novelty and lack of real applications beyond trials also means governance issues tend to be hypothetical, with papers generally echoing the need for collaboration among stakeholders and finding a balance between overregulation and laissez-faire policymaking. This uncertainty on various fronts also makes the future evolution of MaaS difficult to predict. Closer cooperation with public transport is a viable path forward, especially given the necessity of its inclusion in any MaaS scheme. Another approach may be integration of MaaS with non-mobility offerings.