“Mobility-as-a-service” (MaaS) will transform transportation by optimising the existing physical infrastructure in our cities and leveraging the increasing sophistication of mobile devices and the customer benefits of a platform business model.

Changes happening in the world’s cities are setting the scene  for MaaS. Rapid urbanisation is both a fact and a megatrend. More people are living in cities and their surrounding areas today than ever before. It’s estimated that every week, three million more people move to cities around the world.

MaaS, by integrating public and private transport options on centralised digital platforms, enables users to register, plan, book, pay for, be ticketed and remain updated on their trips. Driven by the proliferation of mobile devices, MaaS would provide seamless, on-demand journeys that offer transport solutions tailored to specific customer preferences (be it journey time, cost and/or service levels), rather than requiring people to fit their lives and plans around the availability of dislocated transport options.

Zero-sum thinking will entrench current stresses, not transcend them. MaaS represents a transformative vision, a step-change that would integrate public and private infrastructure.

Read the full MaaS paper. Post from QIC.