Fall seems to be the season for Mobility-as-a-Service panels and debates.

Speaking at several has led me to reflect on my own MaaS journey, summarized in the https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đŸ§”" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread"> below (w/article links).

TLDR: Despite great promise and hype, very few people use MaaS today. We need new models.
2/ I first learned about MaaS ~5 years ago. It offered a captivating vision: Leverage new technology to knit together trips on transit, bikeshare, carshare, scooters etc to improve cities and reduce private driving.

I was fascinated and wanted to learn more.
3/ 2 years ago I heard a top US transportation guru cite Helsinki as the future of urban mobility “because everyone there uses Whim, a MaaS app, to get around town.”

I then met several Finns who disagreed. That led to this article, my first about MaaS. https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2018/10/helsinkis-maas-app-whim-is-it-really-mobilitys-great-hope/573841/">https://www.citylab.com/perspecti...
5/ The deeper I got into MaaS, the more I realized that *any* MaaS solution-- good or bad-- relies on government to improve transit, protect micromobility users, and price auto use higher.

But policy isn& #39;t as flashy as a slick MaaS app. So I wrote this. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-13/going-car-free-will-take-more-than-mobility-apps">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...
6/ Meanwhile I& #39;ve been looking for an example of a MaaS platform that sparked mode shift, but I haven& #39;t found one.

A few transit agencies launched their own MaaS app (like Berlin’s Jelbi), but I don& #39;t see evidence of widespread use with those either.
8/ That @citylab piece drew a slew of responses, many of them smart and entertaining rebuttals. A few of note:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trending-maas-piia-karjalainen/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tre... href=" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maas-beer-stijn-vernaillen/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/maa... href=" https://whimapp.com/maas-is-like-a-heavy-metal-band/
https://whimapp.com/maas-is-l... href=" https://www.linkedin.com/posts/boyd-cohen-ph-d-211869a_maas-activity-6696858551253647360-HaT3/">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/boy...
9/ I’m still searching for evidence MaaS can meet its hype. But I’m not sure how, unless brave public officials lift transit + micromobility and suppress driving.

A city like Mayor Hidalgo& #39;s Paris could be a MaaS hotbed —*if* MaaS biz models work. #754f3eb716ec">https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/10/20/paris-mayor-anne-hidalgo-to-make-good-on-pledge-to-remove-half-of-citys-car-parking-spaces/ #754f3eb716ec">https://www.forbes.com/sites/car...
10/ For more info, the OECD’s @ITF_Forum has an intriguing new report of MaaS: https://www.itf-oecd.org/pricing-and-efficient-public-transport-supply-mobility-service-context

To">https://www.itf-oecd.org/pricing-a... be clear, I want car-light cities to thrive. I just don’t see evidence (yet) that MaaS will get us there.

Want to tell me why I’m wrong? Have data to share? I& #39;m all ears.
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