What is MaaS?
It means that, for example, instead of checking whether your bus is running, or there is a bike available near you to pick up, or the trains are on time, a single mobile phone app will be able to book multiple options for any journey, using the most efficient combination of transport types. It might book you tickets to your destination using the best combination of bus and rail, or using a scooter if one is available. Or it might suggest you hail a self-driving car (when they become available) for part of the journey - which, again, it will book for you.
Of course, there are many issues to face, apart from the development of the technology. For example, developing the right communication infrastructure is obviously the cornerstone to the success of MaaS. To work properly, it will require non-stop, secure connectivity between a mobile phone and a network, whether it be on the underground, or in a car, or anywhere else.
However, in the long run, it is easy to see the potential benefits from MaaS in terms of quicker journey times and less pollution from more optimal resource use and the arrival of electric vehicle sharing. Nevertheless, three key building blocks need to be put in place to ensure all the benefits are harnessed.
First, someone - probably the public sector - needs to play the role of 'Guiding Mind.’ Unless there is a body which can ‘bang heads together ‘- and decide the framework for the system, what its scope should be and how it should be developed - there is a risk that fragmentation will lead to a piecemeal approach to the issue. The whole aim of MaaS is, after all, to make things simpler, not more complicated. Public sector leadership is likely to be vital in ensuring goals are set, safety is embedded, and the public and private sectors works together to produce the most optimal outcome.
Second, while the public sector has a role in terms of setting the rules and regulations, there needs to be agreement about where the balance of risk should lie between it and the private sector, which is likely to be called on to deliver the infrastructure and run the systems. Too much risk held centrally would be a recipe for over-speccing of contracts, lack of private sector innovation and the public sector generally getting too bogged down in the detail. Too much risk devolved to the private sector means there may be not enough incentive for firms to carry out the work, as the rewards do not compensate for the higher potential liabilities taken on. In addition, there is the need to agree on sharing risk between the different private sector providers of the service: if an integrated journey is disrupted, who is responsible for getting the traveller to their final destination, and who should bear any financial impacts?
Third, the involvement of autonomous, electric, ridesharing vehicles in MaaS would appear vital for the system to truly develop beyond simple smart ticketing to the wider ideal of smart journeys. Users will need to be given multiple options to complete their trips, and cars offer far greater flexibility than buses or trains to take people door-to-door. However, this technology, although advancing rapidly, is still probably many years from fruition. Yet without it, it is difficult to see how MaaS can offer the most compelling range of options for users to choose.
Other questions need to be addressed. Should MaaS platforms be developed on a local, regional or national basis? Who will be responsible for all the data collected, and who will be allowed to access it? Should there be a capability for freight to be integrated into the system? And what do you do about the issue of liability – who pays when there are major system failures: should, for example, the industry follow the lead of the aviation or nuclear industries, where liability is capped?
Nevertheless, the opportunities are huge. Once the platforms and framework are agreed, Maas systems should provide yield-hungry investors such as pension funds with just the kind of long-term, stable and relatively predictable returns they are increasingly demanding. Meanwhile the wider benefits to society are also clear, in terms of fewer traffic jams, less pollution and easier journeys.
For society to reap the full benefits of MaaS, public and private sectors need to come together to agree a mutually-beneficial division of responsibilities and a clear path to project completion. Importantly, there needs to be agreement about what success looks like, and who will pay. MaaS has the potential to improve the lives of millions around the world - but only the right combination of the public and private sectors working in partnership will ensure its success.
