Is Mobility as a Service an effective solution to achieve smart mobility? A multiple case study of European MaaS aggregators.

Abstract

Mobility as a Service is a new concept that has raised enormous expectations since its launch, as it seemed to be the ultimate solution to transition to a smarter and more sustainable urban mobility. However, a few years after its conception, MaaS aggregators have collided with operational reality and many challenges and critical aspects have arisen. This explorative research provides a multiple case study of European MaaS aggregators, integrated with a sample of stakeholders involved in the MaaS ecosystem, and attempts to comprehend whether these solutions can effectively help the transition to smart mobility. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analysed through the thematic analysis method. The key findings are: (1) MaaS aggregators are not an effective solution in the short term, as they are in a delicate transitional phase where user numbers are still too low to have a significant impact; (2) in the long term, if MaaS aggregators manage to find effective answers to the various critical aspects presented in this research, they have the potential, as also demonstrated by some studies, to be an effective support for the achievement of smart mobility; (3) MaaS alone it's not the ultimate solution to smart mobility, however if its positive growth continues, it will certainly play an important future role in it.