Our ultimate goal is to integrate different mobility options on MaaS-type platforms combining collective and shared transport. Such system is to constitute an alternative to using private cars in urban areas.
MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) is a concept of accessing various forms of mobility available on one digital platform, in practice – through a mobile app. First of all, such a tool integrates various transport options available in a given area, offered by many mobility service providers, and secondly – allows to plan, conduct and pay for the entire and every trip. The basic principle of MaaS is to link various transport services (e.g., public transit, railway, shared mobility) in order to achieve for the end user a comprehensive, integrated and service-oriented mobility service. This reduces the dependence on individual transport modalities, allowing users seamless and more flexible mobility.
MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) can be described as a subscription to a certain type of a service (here: mobility), as a purchase of a specific mobility package consisting of collective transport (most often municipal public transit), and supplemented with a number of other options, primarily self-service shared mobility systems (e.g., bike sharing, electric scooters and mopeds, car sharing), but also the so-called Mobility on Demand such as taxi- or ride-hailing. This model is sometimes compared to digital services that integrate the offers of numerous service providers, publishers or producers – such as e.g., YouTube for video, Spotify for music, Booking.com for hospitality and accommodation, or Netflix for movies – only that in the case of MaaS it is about mobility services.
A good example of the implementation of a MaaS- platform is the BVG Jelbi app launched in September 2019 by the Berlin Transport Authority (BVG). It combines the offer of public transport with over 60,000 vehicles of shared mobility services. After only 2 years, this solution was already used by as many as 8% of Berliners.
At the institutional or corporate level, access to a MaaS-type platform is sometimes defined as a mobility budget or a mobility package, under which – funded or co-financed by the employer as a work tool and/or employee benefit – individual employees gain access to a wide range of various forms of mobility, also as an alternative for a company car.
We invite all entities interested in the development of the MaaS ecosystem to join our efforts and cooperate.
