What is Mobility as a Service?

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is the integration of multiple transportation and ticketing providers into a single platform. This platform shows travel information, including travel times and ticket prices for multiple modes of transport on demand.

MaaS allows the user to search for the quickest and easiest route to their destination by their preferred mode of transport, or a combination of transport modes. The single application offers customers increased mobility, flexibility and the potential to cut costs and save time.

MaaS customer benefits

Mobility as a Service simplifies journey planning, improves user experience, and offers a personalised service based on user preferences and feedback.

Users can define their preferences, such as cost, comfort, time, or fitness. The platform would then make suggestions as to the best route and mode of transport. These could include car rental, car ownership, taxi, car sharing, cycling, walking, or public transport.

For example, a user might state their preferences as ‘fitness’ and ‘cost’. When searching for an ideal journey to work in the morning, the platform could prioritise routes that integrate cycling and walking options. This would both cut costs for the user and improve their physical fitness.

The platform might display further information, such as the calories burned from the suggested cycle or walking routes. The platform could also recommend specific services, such as a dockless bike hire scheme.

MaaS provider benefits

Mobility as a Service not only improves the customer’s user experience, it allows individual providers to benefit from the customer satisfaction derived from the integration of multiple services. By combining services, Mobility as a Service can create new customer demand and offer new sales channels for providers. Service providers can also improve their services based on wider commuter data, and start creating demand-based routes to better serve their customers.

Health providers and the environment also stand to benefit from Mobility as a Service, as it has the potential to reduce emissions and promote exercise.

Technology used to create a MaaS platform

You can use existing technology to create a Mobility as a Service platform. The example below explains how our TravelTime could be integrated.

Time Map

The TravelTime Search API allows users to search for locations that are reachable within a certain travel time using various modes of transport.

GIF shows where's reachable within 45 minutes using different modes of transport within London

Users can search by different modes of transport, including driving, walking, cycling and public transport. The area that is reachable is then drawn on the map.

Additional routes can also be calculated by different modes of transport and layered on top.

Time Filter

Users can search for points of interest within the travel time limit using different modes of transport.

Geocoder

The TravelTime platform also has a Geocoder to convert the addresses and locations to coordinates. These coordinates can be displayed on a map as pins. Fare and route data can also be integrated and shown to the user.

Example of a Maas platform

This example uses the Whim app - a Mobility as a Service platform created by MaaS Global. MaaS Global launched the Whim app in Helsinki and have since launched projects in the UK, Europe and the Far East.