Maas (mobility-as-a-service) refers to digital systems that offer users mobility as a service. It often refers to a mobile app providing users with information, booking and ticket payment for a wide variety of means of transportation. For example, a customer can use a single mobile application to book, buy and validate his or her train ticket, and use the same app to charge his or her electric car to a charging station.
This trend has emerged several years ago and will keep growing in 2022. Indeed, MaaS is attracting more and more public players as part of their mobility policies and private players see it as a new high-potential market. Initiatives are multiplying in France and Europe with 8 MaaS currently operational in France and several project in progress at date according to the MaaS observatory.
The development of MaaS is supported by many players: local authorities use it to meet mobility needs in their area and develop new, less emission-intensive forms of mobility; eMSP increase the attractiveness of their existing offers, and industrial solution providers see it as an opportunity to develop new service offers.
Implications of MaaS
The emergence of MaaS brings many challenges. First, its implementation should integrate into existing models to avoid additional costs for the community. Then, its development implies the standardisation of business models and exchanges between operators on a European and international level to enable system interoperability and limit overall cost. Finally, it should aim at offering a rich and seamless user experience, supported by advanced service integration between operators, encouraging the adoption of new multimodal mobility as an alternative to high CO2 emitting mobility.
In 2021, GIREVE led the consultation between the members of AFIREV and the GART (Grouping of Transport Organizing Authorities in France), a working group gathering several partners for framework and coordination of MaaS in France – Cerema, Mission Innovation Numérique des Territoires (MINT), UTP and representatives of different mobility services.
An interoperability platform, GIREVE naturally extends its intermediation services to MaaS operators in need of advanced interaction with charging infrastructure and mobility operators. GIREVE calls on all Mobility Organizing Authorities willing to integrate EV charging into MaaS services currently being deployed on their territory. GIREVE offers to carry out a pilot project during 2022 and present their conclusions to GART at the end of 2022.
