Future Needs and Visions for Mobility as a Service: Insights from European Workshops

Paper in proceeding, 2016

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss results from the first in a series of four workshops held in three European countries – Austria, Finland, and Sweden – the purpose of which is to provide input for the development of a European roadmap for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) within the project Mobility as a Service for Linking Europe (MaaSiFiE). The first workshop focused on the need for change in the current mobility paradigm, during which experts discussed needs and visions for future mobility services. Although a range of factors, including enablers and obstacles, for developing MaaS in and across Europe were identified in the three national workshops, some common key issues emerged, including: the need for leadership and a clearer division of the new roles and responsibilities; a user-centered, holistic “life” approach to mobility and traveler’s needs that is also founded on quality assurance, transparency, commonalities, and standards; a sustainability focus addressing both short- and long-term local and national goals of equity, accessibility, and environmental and consumer protection; and a (eco)system approach in which rules, regulations, policies, actions, and mindsets of both individuals and organizations need to innovate so as to better support the development and implementation of MaaS.