Discover how apps can improve our experience when choosing the best means of transport
Have you ever thought about having an app on your phone so you can choose the best way to get around the city when you need to go out? This is the idea behind MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which brings convenience to mobility services.
This app would work like this: with one click, your subway or bus ticket is in your hand, if that is the best option at that time. Another click and you know where there are bikes and scooters nearby. Or, if applicable, you can call a car or rent a vehicle.
MaaS is a service concept that integrates public transport with other mobility services, such as car sharing, ride sharing and cycling. Some have the intelligence to suggest the best option at the moment, according to the availability of modes and traffic.
The idea, initially, is to facilitate planning when traveling and using these different modes of transport and to simplify payment, centralizing it in a single channel (generally, an app). In the long term, the objective would be to reduce “car dependence” in cities and encourage people to use a transport service instead of owning a vehicle.
The first MaaS appeared in Finland, in 2017, and today it already works in other countries, such as Japan, Switzerland and Austria. O Whim offers packages with different prices for various service baskets, ranging from unlimited trips on public transport combined with taxis and car rental to unlimited use of all modes, including bicycles and electric scooters.
In 2019, Berlin became the first city in the world to have a MaaS application offered by the municipal transport authority. Who uses the Jelbi You can take a bus, train, taxi, scooter, bicycle or share cars and rides.
Since then, the concept has been spreading to other European cities. In Austria, for example, the KlimaTicket allows you to use all means of public transport in the country by paying an annual fee.
In Belgium, the Skipr helps companies make better use of their mobility budget for employees, who can use the app to choose how they want to get to and from work, mixing modes such as public transport and car rental, for example.
Recently, MaaS arrived in the United States. In Pittsburgh, entrepreneurs are developing the platform Move PGH, which brings together public transport and bicycle and electric scooter sharing services and allows users to find all available transport options by accessing just one app.
Will the idea reach here soon?
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