MaaS will only succeed as a business model when the traveler will have about the same travel time as when using  his normal means of transport, at an acceptable price. In order to realize this, scale is required. A MaaS-provider must be able to offer a wide range of transport means. These means have to be purchased. The provider must be cheaper than individual providers, such as NS (Dutch Railways) and Connexxion (transport company). And additionally he should offer extra services around the trip itself, such as travel planning, billing and paying. This makes it necessary that he buys large volumes. Only then prices will drop and the service provider will be able to compete with individual carriers. Launching a MaaS therefore requires investment capital - also for the marketing that is needed to convince the user.

 

Besides a large investment a MaaS provider will also need a way to unlock the huge amount of data to the user and also back to the providers, for example, to pay for the used kilometers of a rented car, or the number of minutes of public transport. Obviously the provider can buy these data from third parties. In both cases he must know which data and platforms are available in the market. Fortunately, there are already various platforms that integrate and offer all kinds of data that can be turned into good real-time travel advices. This is especially the case in cities, for example in Helsinki, where the first trial was initiated to integrate all modes into a single service via an app (Whim). The company behind this app is MaaS Global and it collected more than 2.2 million euro in the beginning of 2016. The French company Transdev, a major player in the world of public transport, has a 20% share.

MaaS services help the government to work towards a cleaner environment, less congestion, but also affordable transportation. Thus, it seems likely that the government should play a role in the development of MaaS services. What options does it have to accelerate the introduction of MaaS? At present it seems that the government is mainly waiting for the market. But because public transport concessions work more restrictively than stimulating, innovation will not come from the public transport providers very quickly. Maybe the government can create more 'market pull' by procuring in an innovative way. Or maybe it can be a co-investor of a MaaS service itself.. And of course, there remains the possibility of “simply” enforcing certain measures.

A wild idea for municipalities struggling with congestion and air quality: take a drastic measure. For example, change the environment zone in a zone where only electric vehicles are allowed to drive. What would happen then? Yes, perhaps an uprising of shopkeepers, residents and employers and employees. But perhaps there is also a smart entrepreneur who sets up a car park on the city's outskirts and provides good access to public transport. Or someone who suddenly gets the idea to have electric shuttle buses driving, combined with the travel information made available by the municipality, all in one bill per month. In this way a radical measure can yield fantastic initiatives.

 

Suggestion: Set up a MaaS via a UIA grant 

How interesting would it be to start a pilot for such a radical measure? Fortunately, this is possible via the Urban Innovative actions (UIA) programme. This programme just announced that new grants will be available, amongst others for projects regarding urban mobility. Is your municipality in need of mobility solutions? Are you an interested entrepreneur? Or do you have a refreshing new idea? Our MaaS expert Arjen Rodenburg will gladly discuss this with you.