MaaS Operators Research Articles

Segmenting the potential users of MaaS by combining latent class cluster analysis and structural equation modeling

To reduce problems caused by the excessive use of private vehicles, transportation planners have been actively looking for sustainable transport related solutions. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is gaining popularity due to its capability to integrate transport opportunities into one platform. Studies on travelers’ acceptance of MaaS have been conducted, but there remains a gap in understanding heterogeneity regarding intentions of using MaaS particularly concerning attitudinal factors. Based upon the extension of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, we plan to reveal travelers’ segmentation by using latent class cluster analysis and to examine path heterogeneities in the identified traveler clusters by applying a structural equation modeling. The results confirm that the traveler clusters consider the importance of the relatives and media's viewpoints toward MaaS, while the car user cluster is more interested in adopting MaaS if the service could promise enough flexibility of traveling in terms of time and destination. The results related to the heterogeneity in transport mode choice are useful for constructing MaaS packages. This study could be advantageous for MaaS operators as it enables them to understand some attitudinal factors influencing willingness to take up MaaS thus realizing suitable, effective promotions.

A mobility pilot development process experimented through a MaaS pilot in Budapest

Recently, several new concepts and innovative technologies have emerged to overcome the problems of urbanization, which can be hardly solved with using exclusively private vehicles or conventional public transport services. One of the new solutions is the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) concept, a user-centric mobility distribution scheme, in which the user needs are satisfied via a single platform, and multiple transport options are offered by one MaaS operator (MO). In the last years, a couple of MaaS pilots were performed, but previous papers fail to focus on the pilot development and the proper description of the minimum viable product. A pilot of MaaS in Budapest has been developed by using the innovative Scrum methodology successfully involving six mobility service providers, such as public transport, shared mobility, and taxi, in the live demonstration. Current article provides detailed information about the pilot development including technical, legal, and business use cases for all service providers. The results of the recruitment and the characterization of the early-bird users are presented, too. The iterative pilot development process can be utilized by those MOs and governmental organizations that would like to initiate a new mobility project based on the MaaS concept.

Risky choice and diminishing sensitivity in MaaS context: A nonlinear logit analysis of traveler behavior

In the rapidly transforming landscape of urban transportation, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) has emerged as a potentially transformative solution to adapt to fluctuating travel demand. However, despite arguments in the literature suggesting that uncertainty in travel plans may influence travelers’ preferences for MaaS, the extent and mechanisms of this impact remain relatively underexplored. This study aims to bridge this gap by evaluating travelers’ preferences toward MaaS subscriptions, mode choices, and their reactions to uncertainty within a risky-choice modeling framework. We incorporate a linear-specified benchmark model and two nonlinear models (one based on Expected Utility Theory with Constant Absolute Risk Aversion adjustments, and the other on Prospect Theory), to estimate travelers’ risk perceptions and their valuation of gains and losses associated with travel time and costs caused by occasional activities during commute trips. The data utilized in our study originates from a specifically designed stated preference survey carried out in Hong Kong. Our findings present insightful observations into MaaS bundle configurations, socio-demographic patterns, and notably, behaviors under uncertain circumstances. In the face of uncertainty, we observe a noticeable increase in reluctance to adopt MaaS, and a heightened preference for taxis. The models also underscore significant risk aversion and diminishing sensitivity concerning travel time and cost, with these tendencies proving more pronounced for travel time compared to cost. These insights are valuable for policymakers and MaaS operators, offering an enhanced understanding of users’ risk attitudes and the intricate interplay between travelers’ preferences for MaaS and the uncertainties inherent in daily travel.

The determinant conditions and causal mechanisms that explain the use of micromobility services

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is presented as a possible solution to the sustainability challenges posed by the concentration of population in cities. Despite the wide range of services that it incorporates and the fact that its adoption is associated with numerous benefits, its rate of use remains low. Therefore, the aim of our research is to identify the factors which explain the use of micromobility services. Since the adoption of mobility is a complex phenomenon whose explanation involves conditions at different levels, a model based on a multilevel perspective is applied to a sample of 48 cities in different parts of the world. The application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Necessary Conditions Analysis shows that there are no necessary conditions in kind for the use of micromobility services, although there are necessary conditions in degree. Likewise, the different combinations of conditions that explain the use, and denial, of the micromobility services are identified. The role played by satisfaction with public transport and the perception that traffic congestion is not a problem stand out in explaining the use, or denial, of micromobility services. There is a causal mechanism that shows how certain conditions trigger the use of micromobility services. MaaS operators should take advantage of existing synergies with different services in the mobility regime to try to encourage the adoption of their applications.

Understanding the impact of occasional activities on travelers’ preferences for mobility-as-a-service: A stated preference study

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a promising solution for sustainable mobility and has therefore received considerable attention from researchers. People have complicated travel diaries. Larger households, especially with children, with a limited number of cars, are essentially prone to delays or travel cancellations. MaaS options fill this gap for such families by offering mobility options accessible at low ownership costs. This paper investigates the impact of non-mandatory trips (mandatory trips include work and school) on MaaS subscription preferences. Different likelihoods of occurrence and the corresponding travel pattern shifts are examined using a stated preference survey of 997 individuals in Hong Kong. A two-stage model is developed: we first calibrate individual risk attitudes using the Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA) utility function. Then we develop several mixed logit models that incorporate risks associated with activities and the response of travelers to the scale of such uncertainty on mode shift decisions. The results reveal that respondents tend to be more multimodal after subscribing to a MaaS bundle, and the use of a taxi is greatly encouraged after subscription. In terms of users’ risk preference, we find that more risk-averse individuals tend to be reluctant to subscribe to MaaS bundles when the level of uncertainty increases. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that travelers are more willing to pay for flexible travel options and have a higher value of time when facing uncertainties (i.e., in the presence of occasional activities). These findings can provide valuable insights for both policymakers and MaaS operators, reflecting users’ perceptions regarding the features of MaaS.

Public-private MaaS: Unchallenged assumptions and issues of conflict in Sweden

Despite an increase in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) initiatives that aim to pave the way for both public and private MaaS Operators, such MaaS models have received limited scholarly attention. Uncertainties therefore remain in terms of how public-private MaaS can be realized and governed. This paper addresses this problem through an exploratory case study of an attempt to reform the business ecosystem for mobility services in Sweden, which is conceptualized as a move towards public-private MaaS. Inspired by the What-is-the-Problem-Represented-to-Be approach, the paper analyzes what problem representations and assumptions underpin the proposed reform and outlines issues of conflict across the involved actors. Drawing on these findings, the paper highlights disagreements on problems, centralization, and responsibilities as challenges to public-private MaaS developments and proposes that an inclusive and pragmatic governance strategy is key for effective and democratic governance of MaaS. Additionally, three avenues for future research are identified: development of analytical tools that better represent the complexity of MaaS governance choices, studies of how the prevailing narrative around MaaS influences developments, and analyses of governance strategies’ effectiveness in relation to political objectives for MaaS developments.

Mechanism design for Mobility-as-a-Service platform considering travelers’ strategic behavior and multidimensional requirements

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is an emerging transport model which provides access to a combination of travel modes through a single platform. A MaaS operator sits between travelers and transport service providers (TSPs), acting as a broker who purchases mobility resources from individual TSPs, constructs seamless transport services, and then sells them to travelers in response to their demand. To ensure the sustainability of such platforms, the key challenge lies in matching travelers to TSPs so that travelers’ individual needs are satisfied, TSPs gain nonnegative profits and system efficiency is achieved. To solve this matching and pricing problem, travelers’ truthful valuations and travel requirements are needed, while such information is usually unknown to operators beforehand. In this study, we develop an auction-based online mobility resource allocation and pricing mechanism to solve this problem, taking into account travelers’ strategic behavior. We first propose an offline (static) mechanism using a Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) based pricing scheme to ensure incentive compatibility, individual rationality, and system efficiency. We then develop an online mechanism based on the dynamic learning algorithm to obtain the near-optimal solution and compare it to a customized greedy based algorithm. We compare both online mechanisms to the offline VCG based mechanism and theoretically prove the competitive ratios. The efficiency and performance of the proposed mechanisms are demonstrated through a numerical study.

Exploring the aspects of MaaS adoption based on college students’ preferences

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) aims to provide a seamless mobility solution by combining several transport services into a single platform. The research on MaaS is rapidly evolving, but so far limited attention has been paid to some of its features. In this study, the aspects related to MaaS are collected, and latent variables are analyzed based on a survey conducted among college students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to identify the relation between the aspects of MaaS packages, the intention to adopt MaaS, and the attitudinal variables. It turns out that young users prefer to receive a wide range of routing-related information, but environmental and health effects are not among the most wanted factors. The participants are mostly interested in using application platforms for booking, paying by bank card online, and using QR codes for ticketing. The results show that technology readiness is closely linked with user preferences. Furthermore, it is highlighted that those respondents who choose advanced aspects are more inclined to adopt MaaS. However, it seems that users are not willing to reduce car usage because of using MaaS. The findings are useful for MaaS operators when developing MaaS applications since based on the travelers’ perspectives, the potential adoption of a MaaS application can be maximized.

Models for Supporting Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Design

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is the new approach in transportation systems that allows users to use different transport services as a single option, by using digital platforms and with integrated design. In MaaS many actors can be identified: MaaS operators, MaaS companies, MaaS users, citizens, system manager/planner. In order to be able to design the system in an integrated way, it is necessary to identify comprehensive methodologies that make it possible to reach sustainability targets in a context where the decisions to be taken are shared between several operators and affect users and citizens. In this paper, the methods to be adopted for the design of an integrated transport service system have been studied. The main aim of this paper concerns the specification of transport system models for estimating the effects of decision-makers’ actions on MaaS. The consolidated design methodologies of transport networks have been extended in the context of the MaaS. The paper reports a methodology that can be used and describes the main models to be used, which derive from consolidated specifications in the field of transport systems engineering. The methodologies have to be integrated into Intelligent and Communication Technology systems to build the Intelligent Transport System in the MaaS environment.

MaaS users: Who they are and how much they are willing-to-pay

Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) is a concept that has gained popularity and interest in the last few years. A significant determinant of the successful integration of a MaaS scheme is demand from passengers and potential users. The current research explores demand and willingness-to-pay for MaaS, focusing on different MaaS plans and offered services. An online survey in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom is utilized in order to explore and model such preferences and choices. Data from the survey includes socio-demographic data, current travel patterns, and a menu-based, stated preference experiment where the users were able to design their ideal MaaS plan. We model user choices by estimating a multinomial logit model, calculating also willingness-to-pay (WTP) for different levels of offered services in the MaaS package (public transport, car-sharing, bike-sharing and taxi). Results of the paper shed light into demand and quantitative analysis regarding MaaS, which the current literature lacks and outlines a price range for mobility services which is close to relevant literature in other locations for public transport and car-sharing and provides WTP estimates for taxi and bike-sharing. Results from this paper are useful both to potential MaaS operators and mobility service providers who would consider joining such initiatives; as we highlight user preferences and willingness-to-pay and to policymakers; outlining the overall preference for MaaS and the effect of socio-demographic and travel habits on MaaS plan choices.

Heuristic-Based Journey Planner for Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

The continuing growth of urbanisation poses a real threat to the operation of transportation services in large metropolitan areas around the world. As a response, several initiatives that promote public transport and active travelling have emerged in the last few years. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is one such initiative with the main goal being the provision of a holistic urban mobility solution through a single interface, the MaaS operator. The successful implementation of MaaS requires the support of a technology platform for travellers to fully benefit from the offered transport services. A central component of such a platform is a journey planner with the ability to provide trip options that efficiently integrate the different modes included in a MaaS scheme. This paper presents a heuristic that implements a scenario-based journey planner for users of MaaS. The proposed heuristic provides routes composed of different modes including private cars, public transport, bike-sharing, car-sharing and ride-hailing. The methodological approach for the generation of journeys is explained and its implementation using a microservices architecture is presented. The implemented system was trialled in two European cities and the analysis of user satisfaction results reveal good overall performance.

Exploring the MaaS market with systematic analysis

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a new transport concept which integrates, manages, and distributes private and public mobility alternatives by using intelligent digital technologies. Recently, research and implementations have been widely conducted. In order to reveal future implications, it is crucial to analyze the available MaaS services by using systematic methodology. Cluster analysis was applied to create typical groups of MaaS services and to define the common features of the systems, which may highlight future trends. In order to identify the most relevant MaaS initiatives, the typical parameters of the services were taken into account and a dataset was developed. More than 30 MaaS services from 14 countries were investigated, and the features and the functionalities of these services were analyzed. The findings demonstrate that there is potential for the development of the applications in terms of their payment features, their personalization, and the provision of all attainable elements of MaaS. The number of operators is constantly increasing. However, it is uncertain whether public or private MaaS operators will be dominant on the market. Three cluster groups were created with specific features and directions of development. The Route planners group involves a few modes of transport, but it provides an extensive service. While the Third parties group has primarily private MaaS operators, the Public systems group usually includes public MaaS operators. This comprehensive study might be useful to MaaS operators and regulators for understanding the typical features and the development directions of the market.

Framework for the potential userbase of mobility as a service

When a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) implementation is planned, the potential userbase must be understood to determine the service potential. The characteristics and travel behaviour of the potential users to estimate the userbase for a MaaS service is not well understood. Additionally, studies in the developing country context are limited. This research has developed a framework to derive an understanding of the potential userbase using population as well as travel mode perspectives with a focus on developing countries. The framework was developed through literature to better understand the characteristics of a potential MaaS user to evaluate the potential userbase. The population perspective includes socio-demographic factors, subjective attitudes and perceptions and environmental considerations of a developing country MaaS user. The perspective of the travel mode includes travel demand and travel mode characteristics of a typical MaaS user. The framework was cross-validated with pilot MaaS studies to affirm and expand the various characteristics presented. Furthermore, a practical implementation of the framework was discussed to aid potential developing country MaaS operators and transport planners to understand the potential userbase for MaaS and to evaluate its potential success.

Mobility-as-a-service: insights to policymakers and prospective MaaS operators

ABSTRACT Mobility-as-a-Service is an innovative concept which is anticipated to offer seamless, end-to-end mobility to customers. As MaaS market continues to grow, a better understanding of the current barriers and enablers is essential for informing policy interventions. For this purpose, this paper conducts a detailed review of the existing European regulations and policy framework, while collecting qualitative data from key stakeholders in three European metropolitan areas. Our research highlights various challenges to MaaS implementation including technical, regulatory, financial, and social issues, that lead to relevant implications for current and future transport policymaking. The paper ends with the delivery of specific recommendations to the involved MaaS actors, including public authorities and prospective MaaS operators, so as to achieve a successful MaaS implementation.

A many-to-many assignment game and stable outcome algorithm to evaluate collaborative mobility-as-a-service platforms

As Mobility as a Service (MaaS) systems become increasingly popular, travel is changing from unimodal trips to personalized services offered by a platform of mobility operators. Evaluation of MaaS platforms depends on modeling both user route decisions as well as operator service and pricing decisions. We adopt a new paradigm for traffic assignment in a MaaS network of multiple operators using the concept of stable matching to allocate costs and determine prices offered by operators corresponding to user route choices and operator service choices without resorting to nonconvex bilevel programming formulations. Unlike our prior work, the proposed model allows travelers to make multimodal, multi-operator trips, resulting in stable cost allocations between competing network operators to provide MaaS for users. An algorithm is proposed to efficiently generate stability conditions for the stable outcome model. Extensive computational experiments demonstrate the use of the model to handling pricing responses of MaaS operators in technological and capacity changes, government acquisition, consolidation, and firm entry, using the classic Sioux Falls network. The proposed algorithm replicates the same stability conditions as explicit path enumeration while taking only 17 seconds compared to explicit path enumeration timing out over 2 hours.

Exploring the possibility of MaaS service in Thailand, implications from the existing conditions and experts' opinions on “Who should be the MaaS provider in Bangkok?”

Mobility-as-a-Service or MaaS is the emerging transport solution that services a package of mobility to customers. MaaS aims to give a new travel experience to travelers, in terms of access to the services and seamless trips on one single platform. The organization of MaaS requires a new player, a MaaS provider, who mediates the travelers (customers) and transport services. The MaaS provider takes the roles of data provider, integrator, and MaaS operator. In many pilot and implementation of MaaS schemes around the world, the MaaS providers come from various stakeholders and employ various business models. MaaS providers are crucial in that they lead the cooperation among all stakeholders and are the driving force of the services. In Bangkok, Thailand, where MaaS is a relatively new concept, the identification of a suitable MaaS provider was explored. Taking the local transport conditions, both demand and service conditions, scenarios of probable MaaS providers were investigated. The study method included literature reviews and collection of present transport setting, including the organizational arrangement. Expert interview and focus group meeting were used to form a concrete understanding and to imply the possibility of the MaaS provider in Bangkok. Three scenarios of Maas providers were set: public transport service provider, private transport service provider and third party, and Public Private Partnership. The results disclose issues that need to be resolved if the stakeholder would serve as the MaaS provider. Several implications are drawn to set the directions of MaaS development and a possible MaaS provider in Bangkok.

Intermediary MaaS Integrators: A case study on hopes and fears

At present, many policymakers and practitioners are searching for actions that could facilitate Mobility as a Service (MaaS) developments. A potential action, which has received a lot of attention, is to introduce Intermediary MaaS Integrators; that is intermediate actors that assemble the offerings from Transport Service Providers (TSPs) and distribute these to MaaS Operators. However, little is known about if and how TSPs and MaaS Operators would appreciate the introduction of Intermediary MaaS Integrators. To address this knowledge gap, this paper explores an attempt to establish a national Intermediary MaaS Integrator in Sweden. The contribution to transportation research is twofold. Firstly, the paper advances the conceptual understanding of Intermediary MaaS Integrators by identifying four defining dimensions: Activities, Management, Processes and Context. Secondly, it deepens the knowledge of Intermediary MaaS Integrators’ value propositions by detailing TSPs’ and prospective MaaS Operators’ hopes and fears vis-à-vis them. Lastly, practical implications for how to facilitate acceptance and adoption are proposed. Intermediary MaaS Integrators should only be introduced if basic incentives for using their services are in place, and if introduced, they should preferably: go beyond offering technical services; have clear, declared objectives; be impartial and capable actors; and carefully consider their launch strategies.

Prototype business models for Mobility-as-a-Service

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a promising concept which aims at offering seamless mobility to end users and providing economic, societal, transport-related and environmental benefits to the cities of the future. To achieve a successful future market take-up of MaaS it is important to develop prototype business models to offer high-value bundled mobility services to customers, as well as enable the MaaS operator and the involved actors to capture value. This paper aims at investigating the business perspective of MaaS by collecting qualitative data from workshops and in-depth interviews in three European metropolitan areas: Budapest, Greater Manchester and the city of Luxembourg. The analysis of the collected data contributed to the in-depth analysis of the MaaS business ecosystem and the identification of the champions of MaaS in the three areas. Prototype business models for MaaS are developed based on the Osterwalder’s canvas, to describe how MaaS operators may create, deliver, and capture value. Our findings indicate that the MaaS ecosystem comprises of public and private actors who need to cooperate and compete in order to capture value. Although noticeable deviations among the study areas are observed, mobility service providers, public transport authorities and regional authorities were commonly indicated as the key actors in a MaaS partnership. In addition, viewed as a system, enablers and barriers to MaaS are identified based on the systems’ of innovation approach. The analysis indicates that the regulatory framework of the cities, the lack of standardization and openness of the application programming interfaces and the need for transport-related investments constitute risks for the successful implementation of MaaS in the study areas. Trust between MaaS actors and cooperation in e-ticketing are key enablers in some of the study areas.