A new non-profit organization that was launched earlier this year to advance the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) concept and solutions across the USA, MaaS America Inc., has announced its Inaugural Board of Directors and the organization’s first annual event that will take place in 2020.
Originally conceived in Finland, MaaS is an emerging world-wide trend, however, there is also no ‘one-size-fits-all’ model that translates across varying geographic locations. The USA’s mobility environment is unique and has specific needs, and MaaS America was founded in January this year to concentrate on creating the best multimodal solutions for the country’s context, aiming to pursue the integration of transport modes and services that encompass the private car (both owned and shared) and non-traditional transport modes that can serve as an important element of public transit systems. The approval of the new Board marks a key milestone for MaaS America which began with an informal Advisory Committee. The appointment of the Board provides the affirmation and validation of the need for the organization to move forward, and comprises and an assembly of transportation industry thought leaders who can provide an incomparable wealth of skills and wisdom to MaaS America.
The Inaugural Board of Directors of MaaS America includes:
- Rosa Rountree, chief executive officer for Egis Projects Inc.;
- Scott McCormick, president of the Connected Vehicle Trade Association;
- Randell H Iwasaki, executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority;
- Mark D Johnson, general counsel for the OmniAir Consortium Inc.;
- Richard Wallace, vice president of the Centre for Automotive Research;
- Marc Pineda, certification consultant;
- Eric Redman, vice president and smart city systems lead at Parsons;
- Jason Barnes, principal for Occam’s Envoy;
- Andy Boenau, principal of Stantec’s MaaS practice;
- Chandler Duncan, managing partner of Metro Analytics;
- John T Flynn, senior sales representative for Fiserv (formely First Data);
- Shel Leader, principal of ITS/Communication;
- Roger Lanctot, director of automotive mobility for the global auto practice at Strategy Analytics;
- Bill Ruch, principal at Bar2 Consulting;
- Willy Dommen, director of technical services at Auriga;
- Brian Stein, VP and national practice manager for fare collection at Intueor Consulting Inc.;
- Fred Charlier, founder and CEO of ClearRoad;
- Andreas Mai, founder and CEO of Ecomo, thought leaders for digital innovation and transport.
MaaS America has also announced the inaugural MaaS-A-Con 2020, a unique workshop intended for MaaS thinkers, doers and innovators to interact in an environment conducive to triggering minds, collaborating and connecting. The event begins with an evening reception on March 10, immediately following the ‘Redefining Mobility Summit’ hosted by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority in California, which is being lead by MaaS America board member Randell Iwasaki. Sessions run from March 11, through the afternoon of March 12, 2020.
“It is a true privilege to have access to the knowledge, experience and guidance of this group of people as we all work to advance successful MaaS ecosystem,” said Tim McGuckin, MaaS America’s founder, executive director and CEO. “Their support and desire to affect real change turned a concept into a reality.”
Rosa Rountree, CEO of Egis Projects, and one of MaaS America’s first supporters, commented, “The Board brings a unique and authoritative mix of real-world experience and industry influence to support MaaS America’s efforts specifically tailored to help all sectors and modes support the growth and success of this important set of technologies.”
