'Mobility as a Service' is taking hold

A report from the Transport Systems Catapult which suggests that we are at the beginning of a “Mobility as a Service” (MaaS) revolution is being supported by several recent developments including the adoption of a new integrated mobility service in Helsinki and ambitious plans announced by VW to become one of the world's largest mobility providers.

 

Published earlier this year, the TSC report calls on policy makers and the private sector to work towards a shared vision for how to make MaaS a success.  Entitled ‘Exploring the Opportunity for Mobility as a Service in the UK’, it was commissioned by the Department for Transport. 

 

The report identified several new trends in terms of consumers attitudes towards mobility. It said that consumers are increasingly expecting their transport to be delivered as a ‘service’. It says that the adoption of MaaS would also incentivise technological advances around improving journey experiences.

 

At the launch of the report, Lucy Yu, Head of Mobility as a Service at the DfT and CCAV, said: “The idea of buying and selling mobility as a service represents a profound change in the way we think about transportation. Although the market will not transform overnight, clear signs of a shift are already present as well as the possibility for joint value creation across the public and commercial sectors."

 

Since the report was published, Helsinki' s transport authority has approved terms for offering its public transport services as part of Finland’s rapidly-expanding MaaS network. A newly established contract with pioneering company MaaS Global makes Helsinki Regional Transport  the world’s first capital city regional transport provider to offer MaaS services to its customers.

 

MaaS Global’s Whim all-inclusive multimodal mobility smartphone application now includes HRT’s public transport services, as well as taxis and rental cars for a fixed monthly price of €249 (US$265). Whim, which was released in October in the Helsinki region, is initially available for a limited group of test users, as new features will be added throughout the rest of this year. 

 

In a further related development, Volkswagen AG has announced plans to expand its new mobility-services division into a business with billions in revenue. Moia, Volkswagen’s 13th brand, will initially focus on ride-hailing and car-sharing and will roll out its services in two European cities next year before potentially expanding to other regions.

 

Moia aims to be one of the world’s three biggest mobility providers and to generate revenue of “a couple of billion” of euros in a few years, Ole Harms, the Volkswagen unit’s head, told reporters from Bloomberg.