Designing the S in MaaS: Behind the scenes and beyond the screens

Conference poster, 2022

There is a considerable number of academic as well as non-academic publications on different aspects of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). Several studies, with a Stated Preference approach, have investigated e.g. who the potential users of MaaS may be, what modes should be offered and users’ willingness to pay. Other researchers have tried to describe the challenges associated with the development and implementation of MaaS including technical issues, legislation and regulation barriers, lack of appropriate business models, etc. There are also those few who report on results of MaaS pilots and how the service elements influenced the outcome. MaaS is not merely a digital application but a complex service, where several mobility service providers need to collaborate in order to offer a service which “… not only integrates a range of mobility services, both public and private, but also provides one-stop access to all services through a common interface.”. It is therefore surprising that design process per se, or the methodology used have not been the focus for research efforts.  

Purpose: This study explains a small-scale MaaS development project with the service design process in focus. What process was followed and why? What methods and tools were used? How were stakeholders involved?  Etc.

Methodology: The scope of study is a local business-to-business MaaS solution designed for employees at multiple organizations (B2B-E), all closely located in an urban area. The design and development of the service were studied from the beginning until final implementation over the course of two years. Data sources include semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, participatory observations of project meetings, and a series of stakeholder workshops reflecting on the MaaS design process.

Findings:The results evidence the need for design guidelines for MaaS with a focus on the service aspect, i.e. the S in MaaS. When analysing the process, most stakeholders realized that important steps were missing or completed in the wrong order. Several general service design principles were not fully implemented, for example results show that not all interaction points in the customer journey were considered in the design (designing for these critical points requires alignment between digital and physical touchpoints; employees’ actual trips often differed from those which the service was intended for, and service ownership and allocation of stakeholders’ responsibilities were not altogether clear. The results highlight the wide range of responsibilities of the MaaS provider, such as maintaining MaaS physical and digital infrastructure, ensuring universal provision of information, and negotiating and coordinating regulations and policies between public and private bodies.

Implications: To provide MaaS is beyond developing and administrating a mobile app or similar end-user digital touch points. It requires physical infrastructure, such as mobility hubs, unified information design of both physical and digital infrastructure, and understanding of multiple user groups , including (in the specific case) individuals as well as organizations. To do so, service design models and methods tailored for complex services are required. Such methods should address high level design challenges including service ownership, stakeholder responsibilities, and evolving business models.