Can MaaS find a business model that works?

Everyone working in mobility talks about MaaS — Mobility-as-a-Service — even though what once seemed like the magical solution to all our (mobility) problems is now struggling to come true. Sure, there have been many interesting initiatives and new apps on the market, but did they find a sustainable way to make money and whose interest do they serve? Did those apps keep their promise of making mobility greener, smarter and less car-centric? Are those goals even reachable? Now that novelty has faded in a market that becomes more and more mature, let’s venture a few asumptions on the future of MaaS.

MaaS has indeed been on everyone’s mind for quite some time now. Yours truly did write an article almost 3 years ago on that very same subject: MaaS, as the integration of various forms of transport services accessible on demand with a single payment channel instead of multiple ticketing and payment operations, could change the way we move in helping to maximise the use of the existing transit system and connect it with every mobility option offered in the city. We are now in 2021 and can’t say we’re there yet — granted, 2020 has shaken the mobility business to the core in ways we couldn’t have foreseen…

Follow-up on my website!