Today, the MaaS Alliance held a debate on ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS) at the European Parliament in Brussels. Maas Alliance members were welcomed by British MEP Daniel Dalton, who hosted the event, and Nikolaus Von Peter, a Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc responsible for sustainable and intelligent transport and transport innovation and research.

Kicking off the debate was Dave Roat’s (Cubic Transportation Systems) presentation of a vision for MaaS disruption and development, with examples of MaaS deployment in the West Midlands of the UK (by Chris Perry, West Midlands Combined Authority) and in Ghent, Belgium, (by Philippe Leeman, Touring Club Belgium) placed under the microscope.

The debate proved very lively and highlighted the importance of public acceptance and incentives for customers, as raised by Nikolaus Von Peter (Violeta Bulc’ cabinet) and Chris Perry (West Midlands Combined Authority). The personalisation of travel and transport choices was also discussed; with Dave Roat (Cubic Transportation Systems) stressing that MaaS is about travelers and their journeys rather than modes of transport.

You can follow the full conversation on Twitter (@MaaS_Alliance); while a full report of the event will be available to MaaS Alliance members soon afterwards.