Mobility as a Service MaaS The less spoken key to the future of innovative mobility infrastructure

MaaS (Mobility as a Service): The less spoken key to the future of innovative mobility infrastr ucture

Dr. Amudhan Valavan Public Transport Expert

Dr. Amudhan Valavan possess over 26 years of experience in Public Transport and Urban Mobility related fields since 1993. From 2016, he has worked as an Independent consultant and Adviser to leading Companies like Thriveni Earthmovers, Thriveni Sainik and also RTA, Dubai and KPTC, Kuwait etc. on several technical assistance and training projects in India & the Middle-East and managed a number of projects involving numerous experts and multi-disciplinary teams.

First we should clearly understand the difference between transport and mobility in one sentence.

“Transport relates to the modes themselves and how we use them to move goods and services. Mobility is much more about people, space and movement. ” – by Transport Studies Unit, Oxford University.

Transport

• Movement of people and goods between physical places/locations • Means and modes of conveying people and goods

Mobility

• Physical movement • Potential or ability to move • Meaning of movement • Practice and experience of moving

Both acknowledge links with movement of information (IT use, digital movement), and social and economic mobility.

Modern cities and growing urban areas are urging mobility providers to move towards innovative, interconnected, and seamless service offerings. This kind of mobility services is referred to as Mobility as a Service “(MaaS)” and “MaaS” is not only about providing access to multimodal transportation, but should also include door to door travel with one ticket, last mile integration, failure management, and last but not least seamless ancillary services integration. The autonomy of “MaaS” is the enterprises share data without losing control over it. Service providers will regain autonomy of their business and data since no central party can access all data. The automation of “MaaS” is the real time failure management handling in case of delays or cancellations.

Internet of Mobility is an open and secure network, it’s not a central market and it’s not a data exchange. It allows exploring new revenue streams through new, seamless collaborations. So, “MaaS”” is one of the subset of Mobility implemented in Public Transport for the benefits of the People and the business models.

We can communicate crisply about “MaaS” - A State of the Art Concept as detailed below:

• Significant CO2 emission potential and support for favourable modal shift • Digital platforms as a tool to empower user and add transparency • Urban mobility markets have high scalability costs • Limited access to ticket resale is a speed breaker

Nowadays, “Internet of Mobility” for people and goods as given below:

Internet of Mobility

Connected Electric Automated Cross Border Digital On Demand Multimodal User Centric Secure Inclusive

In globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Public Transport Authorities and Public Transport Operators to reassess their digital strategies because priorities have shifted and resources are scarce. Public Transport agencies are to transform how they deliver and integrate services as they are forced to improve collaboration and seamless coordination of talent, data and technology. Need for accelerating the implementation of digital services, yet much of the increased volume lacks digital maturity.

In an emerging market segment such as “MaaS”, the thin margins that sustain most businesses will not last long without government support or subsidies. However, for those businesses that emerge, after this threat of COVID has subsided, the world of “MaaS” will bring a change. In order to thrive – not just survive – in a new world already awakening from the Covid-19 nightmare, it will be important to better understand the opportunities available for “MaaS” for it to be a key societal building block in the future.

Shared Mobility: Flexibility vs. certainty of a vehicle:

“COVID-19 has changed the way we travel completely, probably forever. “Honestly, when the pandemic started we thought we would be out of business in no-time as everyone was strongly advised to not leave their homes. However, we didn’t expect the outcome we experienced. “People were actively looking for alternative methods of transportation. Shared e-bikes were no longer seen as a vehicle for lazy people or a temporary replacement for your own bike, but as a safe, healthy option for short trips instead of public transport. Besides that, for longer trips people replaced the train with a shared car. We especially noticed this during Christmas,2020. People still wanted to visit their family, but wanted a safe way of transportation, so they opted for a shared eCar. “When the pandemic

started we thought we would be out of business in no-time as everyone was strongly advised to not leave their homes. However, we didn’t expect the outcome we experienced. ”

As a shared mobility provider, we naturally had to adapt to this new way of traveling. “So besides the obvious safety and hygiene measurements we took, including proper communication regarding the governmental guidelines, we also made it possible for more vehicles to be reserved in advance. Due to the Corona-measurements the Dutch government implemented an idea called “going out got less spontaneous” It simply means that one needs to plan ahead. So our users had less need for vehicles that they could take when they pleased, but desired the certainty of a vehicle when they needed it. ”

Challenges of “MaaS” in a postCOVID-19 world:

With its expected positive impacts in making our transport system more sustainable and resilient, “MaaS” has the potential to be the game-changer in our everyday mobility. We anticipate that demand for solutions like “MaaS” is accelerating in post-COVID world. However, a challenge that the sector now faces is a low amount of investments channelled into the new mobility industry due to the fact that investors remain quite cautious, while waiting for clearer signals for the speedy and full recovery of our economies. Stimulus packages and strong, aligned policies from governments emphasising the urgency for green & digital solutions are now needed to help the sector through the funding gap that is hindering its capacity to innovate and invest and bring forward comfortable &smart mobility solutions for the future.

People are now more aware of how expensive it really is to own a car and how little it’s actually needed to comfortably reach their destination. We expect that people will now have experienced that they can travel just as flexibly and easily with shared mobility as when traveling with their own car or bike. Old habits have been broken and there’s space for new, conscious habits to be made.

Public transport is the backbone of the “MaaS” Model/Concept. The most efficient public transport systems benefit from the complementarity of services where mass transit solutions are complemented by various shared and ondemand services. Thus, the possibility to resell transport services, including public transport, with reasonable and non-discriminatory commercial terms are a prerequisite for integrated multimodal

“MaaS”” services to be developed. At the global level, this could be done by regulating access to a gradually expanding minimal reference ticket offer, determining the ticket products and types of public transport and other modes that needs to be made accessible to “MaaS” operators. Without integration of public and shared mobility services sustainable MaaS services cannot be achieved.

Confidence in public transport

It’s necessary to distinguish between the period of total confinement/lockdown and the period when people were allowed to move again with sanitary restrictions with the wearing of a mask and social distances. “In the case of total containment, only essential workers had the right to move and under these conditions “MaaS” solutions were mainly used to make transport on demand and see what the possible options, knew that a certain number of mobility services had to shut down their operations. In the event that working life has resumed its course, “MaaS” solutions had to integrate important information for users, mainly vehicle capacity, dynamically updated traveller information, allowing users to better plan their journeys in all knowledge of causes.

“The positive side of this pandemic will have been the acceleration of the digitization of Public Transport operators, with the deployment of a contactless solution for payment and ticketing and real-time solutions for the arrival of buses, trains and other travel means. ”

Integrated Ticketing has proven facilitating the access to a compelling Public Transport (increase)... though still remaining challenging in many place.

• Work from home, coupled with traditional business models • Lack of digital culture that inhibits evolution and scalability • Status quo retaining control. It is unusual for Public Transport to welcome other actors within the mobility chain. • Numerous individual pilot projects that neither integrate nor cope with a spanning ticketing domain: book, pretrip, in-trip, post-trip We have to form the strategy for the new environmental and business frame to tackle. Is the Public Transport Ambitious to Optimize and Transform? • Define Strategy. Articulate Digital

Business. Articulate Partnerships.

Multiplicity of Actors. • Options and Assessment for Plan

Development • Simplification of Tariffs. Identify New

Products to fulfil New Needs. Impact of

New Digital Culture • From the Current Market to a Multiparticipated Market • Optimization. Re-evaluation while

Lack of Market Stability

We think everyone would agree when it comes to using transport, the daily decisions that we make matter. The different modes of transport that we choose play a significant role in providing overall connectivity, shaping our urban areas, impacting travel safety, space allocation, respiratory health and much more. Opting for walking, cycling and collective modes of transport can have a positive impact not only on our quality of life, but also on our cities. Nowadays, we can recast transport as a means to enhance our lives and connectivity.

Using digital technology means we can plan our trips, more effectively we can catch up with reading on the metro, improve our health by walking or cycling, or send some urgent emails on the train.

If cities were to invest in modern and smart infrastructure, including for cycling and walking, in comparable amounts to that invested in motorised transport, congestion times across all modes could be cut considerably. Urban mobility also accounts for 40 per cent of all CO2 emissions of road transport – a figure that can be greatly improved, particularly as countries strive to improve the quality of life in cities and to meet its commitment to its citizens.

Why we need “PT-MaaS” exclusively?

PT services are the transit lifeblood of cities and regions. They provide consistent, reliable mobility for daily commuters and frequent travellers. “PTMaaS” extends national, regional and city Bus services to a new generation of mobility services. “PT-MaaS” is a open mobility platform designed to help Public Transport operators integrate their services with all other public and private mobility services.

Using “PT-MaaS”, any PT provider can launch their own “MaaS” solution, using their own brand as truly Multimodal and Intermodal. • Grow Ancillary revenues • Combine rail, public transit, ride hailing, bikes, scooters and more in a single passenger journey • Generate more rail journeys • Retain and grow direct digital relationship with customers

By encouraging desired modal shift:

• From single-occupancy to shared vehicles / rides • Better information on active mobility options • Making multimodal combined trips more predictable, easy and attractive • Providing better info & access to tourist, to public transport networks, and services

By making transport network operations more efficient:

• Less vehicles in urban areas – release urban space - less traffic & congestions related to search of the parking space • “Fleet effects” (B2B market): Easier to implement measures through agreement with fleet operators • Data gathered by MaaS app used for predictive traffic management services and network and capacity management

Regulation of “MaaS” to set the framework for open ecosystem to benefit the users

• Creation of fair COMPETITION, including access to resale of tickets • Facilitating availability of DATA, creating incentives for data sharing • Supporting sustainable mobility behaviour and optimised mobility mix with INCENTIVES • Regulation should remain business model and technology NEUTRAL

Competition public and private transportation:

As far as rider demographics are concerned “MaaS” should likewise cover the entire spectrum of users. Some communities are seeing the potential to support privatized services that serve more affluent communities, but correspondingly others are seeing it more as a way to provide mobility to some of the critical need segments of their population, including elderly and disabled riders. “Public and private transportation operators up until now have largely competed with one another with the result that private operators are not able to monetize and government operator are losing ridership on fixed route services, especially buses. In any deployment of “MaaS” both industry entrepreneurs and government entities must be involved from the start or the risk of failure or at least much more limited effectiveness is the likely result. Only the private sector can move quickly enough or provide the necessary level of innovation, while correspondingly government must be involved to ensure that essential services are provided to all of the population, and that all operations are regulated to ensure the safety of the public. Academia also has a critical role in providing valuable research designed to achieve objective, data-driven results. What needs to occur is that private services monetize cost takeout for governments in replacing low density fixed route services with on-demand operations such multiple cities are now doing in partnership”.

The “MaaS” will be doing its part

• Building TRUST within the sector with business model and technology neutral approach • Guidance for assessment of

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS • Coordination of initiatives towards more INTEROPERABLE SYSTEM • Advocating for DATA-POSITIVE regulation, that enables innovations and builds competitive market

If we have the willingness to test out new ways of moving, and our political leaders have the courage to support the necessary legislative changes or infrastructural improvements to encourage sustainable means of transport, we could enhance our well-being and make our cities even morepleasant places to live and work in by having a superior mobility infrastructure. Travellers can decide the most logical way to complete their trip, be it driving, taking public transport or simply walking for a few minutes. One common misperception is that car journeys are relatively cheap compared with public transport. When including the costs of insurance, petrol, upkeep and parking (not to mention the purchase price of the vehicle), the costs quickly add up. By combining driving with cheaper transport modes, such as public transport, or free modes, such as walking or cycling, the long-term savings can often be substantial and MAAS greatly contributes in achieving that goal.