Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – Not Just for the Future
Article originally published by Chad Duggan on 15/02/2019 via LinkedIn.
As MaaS is still in a stage of development, the potential for future innovation and adaptation around it is pretty much infinite. However, it is now beginning to be successfully applied in cities around the world.
After trials in countries such as Finland, Singapore, the UK and USA, MaaS is now becoming seen as an achievable way to solve some of the biggest transportation problems faced daily by those in urban centres. Not only that, but it could also form part of the solution to certain public health and environmental issues. Cities need to become more liveable, as more and more people move towards them. MaaS is one way to improve this.
Once fully implemented into the transport infrastructure, MaaS will provide a more sustainable and efficient way to mobilise people and goods around the network. With MaaS often manifesting as a smartphone app, it is as mobile as the users it’s serving. This means that it’s suited to the modern world. A modern world in which the majority of people are never too far from their own pocket-sized devices.
House of Commons Transport Committee – MaaS Report
On 19th December 2018, the Transport Committee (charged by the House of Commons to provide scrutiny of the Department for Transport) published their report on MaaS. The report is intended to increase public awareness of MaaS, show policy-makers why MaaS is going to be worth investing in, and to clarify the DfT’s crucial role in shaping its development.
The report recommends that Government take the lead on setting-out a path for MaaS eco-system development and how it expects it to contribute to wider strategies and the achievement of further goals (e.g. Road to Zero strategy). It also recommends the Government provide funding for development and implementation, and to create a suitable framework for MaaS stakeholders to work within. All of this while firmly protecting the interests of service users.
There is an acknowledgement of the disruption that introducing MaaS would have on the current system, but embraces the positive impact that this new innovative model could have.
MaaS is for the Here and Now
Since 2016, Helsinki residents have been able to use MaaS to plan, book and pay for multi-modal journeys using the Whim smartphone app (run by MaaS Global). Helsinki has therefore been a forerunner in the transportation revolution, of which the end-goal scenario is not some far-off fantasy. Instead, it’s a reality happening right now. MaaS needs to be taken seriously as a real-world option; as a solution to many of the negative consequences of the current system.
In the majority, the functions and capabilities of MaaS are already in existence. People today can plan journeys, see the transport options available to them, view real-time departure boards and expected travel duration. They can hail rides, and purchase tickets/passes at the click of a button. The problem is that this functionality doesn’t exist on a single platform without MaaS.
Instead, users are required to jump back and forth between different apps and websites, making several transactions along the way. The implementation of MaaS will bring efficiency, convenience, and empower users to make more informed choices about how and when they travel around the network.
What Needs to Happen Now?
What now needs to happen so that MaaS can be scaled-up and rolled-out successfully? Deloitte draw up four action points in Issue 20 of their Deloitte Review :
- Governments need to invest time and money, and give their support to MaaS. Private backing could also prove to be mutually beneficial for those willing to pledge support (see schemes such as Santander Cycles in London).
- Public-private partnerships should be established and kept open for new members – MaaS Alliance and MaaS Scotland are both dedicated networking organisations with members spanning the variation of stakeholders required for successful MaaS integration.
- Technology architecture should be agreed upon. The openness of the platform, allowing stakeholders/providers to be on-boarded smoothly in order to create a quality user experience, is vital to its success.
- Pre-existing transportation should be included in the MaaS ecosystem, along with their payment systems. The whole system shouldn’t be disregarded, but altered to suit the changing needs of the people that it serves.
