What is Mobility as a Service (MaaS)?
Perhaps, by now, you have heard about Mobility as a Service (MaaS) (pronounced Mass). If you haven’t, don’t sweat it — that’s why you’re here.
Simply put, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) brings together every kind of transport, be it public transport such as the TTC in Toronto, ride-, car- or bike-sharing, taxi or car rental/lease, or a combination of any of these (into a single intuitive mobile app). What makes MaaS so unique is that it seamlessly combines all of these transport options, which I should remind you, are all from different providers and run by private operators, and handles everything from planning to payments, and it does it seamlessly. Sure, MaaS handles your travel needs in the smartest way possible, but the monthly subscriptions are what make it truly special. And, if you are like many, a simple Pay as you Go plan is always available (with all of the added benefits of taking care of the entire journey in a single app).
For its users, MaaS should be the best value proposition, by helping them meet their mobility needs and solve the inconvenient parts of individual journeys as well as the entire system of mobility services. For Transit Operators, MaaS promises increased profits through additional volume, increased mobility spend from its existing (and new) customers, improved efficiency, and demand. And for Cities and Provinces, better service-level for users, budget savings, the decrease of road congestion and better air quality should sound pretty attractive.
MaaS aims to provide an alternative to the use of the private car that may be as convenient, more sustainable, help to reduce congestion and constraints in transport capacity…and can be even cheaper if you compare the Total Cost of Mobility. The average Canadian household spends over ~$14,000/year (~$1,166/month)* on Transportation/Mobility (this includes car payments, car upkeep including maintenance, gas, insurance, fuel, etc. in addition to the money that is already being spent on other forms of getting around the city like Bikes, Uber, Bus, Subway, etc) — that’s a lot of money for something that spends 95% of its time not in use.
Sources: (*) Statistics Canada, Loanscanada.ca
Why now?
Let’s take a look a few of the Megatrends that are disrupting transportation and fuelling demand
- 13% growth in population between 2017–2030 (1)
- 60% of people expected to live in cities by 2030 (2)
- 33% Growth in Canadian tourism between 2010–2030 (3)
Sources: (1) Statistics Canada; (2) United Nations; (3) TIAC AIC
So, is MaaS so game-changing that it’ a sound alternative to private car ownership?
For MaaS to be a real alternative to car ownership, the solution needs to feel like the car in the driveway but solve all of the problems that come with owning a car — It makes worries about route planning, parking, getting gas and car maintenance a thing of the past, helping you go places more relaxed and more efficiently than ever before.
Leave your thoughts below.
Upcoming MaaS Events
Fluidtime Symposium 2019 — Vienna
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