Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a growing technology that provides seamless integration of mobility services through user-friendly platforms. MaaS facilitates integrated travel options via various modes and actors including public transport, car-sharing, ridesharing, taxies, bicycles and micromobility. MaaS offers the potential to reduce the reliance on private motor vehicles for travel in turn helping to address many modern problems faced by cities throughout the world, including climate change, congestion, pollution, transport poverty and social equity issues . While it is not novel that travel can be made by combining different modes and services, MaaS facilitates seamless payments through a dedicated system, providing higher levels of service, reduced cost, and a better user experience. MaaS research is accumulating rapidly. To date focus areas have included describing the concept, identifying stakeholder roles, feasibility studies for MaaS systems, case studies from MaaS trials, and policy implications when developing and operating systems. Beyond MaaS there are a range of other emerging application and digital mobility solutions which can complement MaaS and the broader transportation system.
This topical collection provides additional breadth and depth to the emerging MaaS literature by presenting research from the third International Conference on Mobility as a Service (ICoMaaS) alongside an open call for international experts undertaking research in MaaS and related fields. The topical collection provides a wide understanding on the complex issue of MaaS, while also providing examples of the case studies which are new and have not been reported in previous MaaS special issues. Developing MaaS is intertwined with the development of sustainable transport systems as a whole and specifically the public transport system and new forms of micromobility, as such, the papers in the topical collection are relevant and of interest to European and international transport researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
Edited by: Steve O’Hern (Transport Research Centre Verne, Tampere University, Finland) | Heikki Liimatainen (Transport Research Centre Verne, Tampere University, Finland) | Milos Mladenovic (Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering, Aalto University, Finland)
