ROBIOTIC
Lexikon
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)
At a glance
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a mobility concept in which people no longer organize their transportation by their own vehicle, but use various mobility services from service providers. These services include public transport, car sharing, cabs, shuttles, flights and much more. However, the use of these different services from different providers is only considered Mobility as a Service when the most diverse means of transport are used as a kind of combined service via a mobility platform specially created for this purpose.
Mobility platforms provide users with access to the services
Companies are creating mobility platforms so that users can use the various mobility offers as conveniently and easily as possible. These platforms can be strictly limited to one provider. Uber, Lyft, Bird, Tier or the respective platform of some local public transport companies, for example, only offer their own services via a dedicated platform. However, there are also platforms that combine several services, e.g. public transport and rental options for cars, e-scooters or bicycles.
IoT components support Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
An important factor for the added value of most MaaS offerings is that users can spontaneously and flexibly find an individual transport solution. Users do not want to have to book all the vehicles and tickets they need for their journey days in advance. Nor do they want to visit a fixed rental station for bicycles or scooters only to find that all vehicles have already been rented. In order for MaaS to work nationwide and be perceived by the user as a real alternative for everyday life, it must be possible to coordinate the offers in virtually real time. IoT sensors, for example, which can transmit the position of a vehicle wirelessly, are ideal for this purpose.
Example: The rental of e-scooters works in such a way that users can find a vehicle in their vicinity via app instead of having to visit a fixed rental station. The e-scooter itself is networked and can therefore communicate its exact position at any time.
Advantages of Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
MaaS is a promising alternative to the car, especially in large cities and regions with very well-developed mobility offers. Proponents hope that MaaS will improve the utilization of available resources.
Mobility tailored to the individual user
When mobility becomes a service, users will be able to achieve their goals in the way that suits them best, even without their own car. They can mix different means of transport individually and thus organize their travel flexibly and spontaneously.
Optimized use of resources
In theory, it is assumed that a flexible mobility concept will reduce the overall traffic volume (e.g. fewer people driving alone in their cars every day) and that the available means of transport and parking spaces will be used more efficiently.
