The public-private partnership, which is hosted by ERTICO – ITS Europe and is creating the foundations for a common approach to Mobility-as-a-Service, the MaaS Alliance, has published a white paper that outlines how integrated transport services could be deployed in Europe.
Entitled ‘Guidelines & Recommendations to create the foundations for a thriving MaaS ecosystem’, the white paper is the result of the work done in the MaaS Alliance working groups, which focus on addressing the good practices, as well as identifying the gaps, barriers and opportunities related to emerging MaaS schemes. The white paper summarizes the first results of this work and gives recommendations for the next steps to be taken to foster the development of a MaaS ecosystem in Europe.
Initially developed in Finland, the MaaS concept constitutes the integration of various forms of transport services into a single mobility service accessible on demand. The Alliance believes that MaaS is set to become the best value proposition for both private and business users, by helping them meet their mobility needs and solve the inconvenient parts of individual journeys, as well to improve the efficiency of the entire transport system by providing an alternative to the use of private cars.
The white paper explains that the development of the MaaS market relies on access and openness of data, open APIs, and more flexible transport and mobility regulations. Currently, the transport sector is mode-specifically regulated, which does not always favor the implementation of MaaS. When defining regulatory principles for a digitized transport system, it is imperative to encourage the participation of all market players, both existing and new players, and avoid stifling innovation.
Open IT architecture and standardized sub-element features, such as payment, ticketing, authentication and security, will be enablers to maximize the development of the MaaS market. In addition to open standards, an imperative requirement is a high quality of the data being exchanged.
One of the founders of the MaaS concept, Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global, will be a keynote speaker at the launch event for MaaS Scotland, which is hosted by the trade body for Scotland’s digital economy, ScotlandIS, and takes place in Edinburgh on September 19. The launch will address the opportunities created by the MaaS concept, and ongoing and upcoming projects in Scotland and the UK. Hietanen will cover an overview of MaaS globally and the development of the Whim app in Helsinki, Finland, and the West Midlands, UK.
