The MaaS Alliance hosted its annual MaaS Summit during the ITS European Congress in Seville, Spain. The event brought together Alliance Members, invited guests and the EC for a topical and thought-evoking discussions on the future of integrated mobility.
The Summit opened with welcoming remarks from Joost Vantomme, Vice President of the MaaS Alliance and CEO of ERTICO, and Laura Eiro, Director General of the Data, Safety and Security Department at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, who explained the background of the Finnish regulation, both representing founding member organisations of the Alliance.
The discussions began with a presentation by Zornitza Dimitrova (European Commission) on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS), which explored the current regulatory landscape and its key challenges. This regulation aims to create a passenger-centric ecosystem by offering users a simple, visual comparison of all transport options to encourage more efficient and sustainable choices. However, its application faces numerous challenges, such as the fragmentation of the European transport market, the lack of passengers’ trust due to uncertainty around missed connections, accountability and refunds. The revised regulation narrows its focus to long-distance, regional, and cross-border travel, leaving urban transport to local authorities. While the road ahead remains long, the summit was proof of the strong commitment from many policymakers and stakeholders to achieve a seamless, interoperable European mobility network. Success stories at national and regional levels, as well as in sectors like aviation, demonstrate that Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) can become a reality.
Next on the agenda, expanding on the European Commission’s introduction, was a high-level discussion on the importance of establishing a unified scope to serve all mobility modes. Moderated by Søren Sørensen (ITS Danmark chairman and chair of the MaaS Alliance Technology & Standards Working Group), who described MDMS as the “roaming for mobility”, and introduced the Nordics as a leading example for other regions in Europe. Mr. Sørensen invited key speakers to share their insights, starting with Jon Kuiper (Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management), who introduced the EDIC initiative as a European Commission instrument and legal entity enabling Member States and private stakeholders to implement the infrastructure for a shared mobility data space jointly. He also referenced important EU-level efforts such as NAPCORE and DeployEMDS that are advancing cross-border cooperation. Elina Immonen (Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications) presented the Finnish Mobility Marketplace, underscoring the importance of collaboration and the need for common standards and language across actors. Zornitza Dimitrova also joined the discussion, emphasising that encouraging healthy competition can support a more dynamic ecosystem, creating opportunities for new entrants while ensuring better services for users.
The second panel discussion was about “Day-to-Day Mobility Deployment”. Moderated by Dagmara Wrzesinska (Cubic), with the participation of Paulo Ferreira dos Santos (Ubirider), and Vincenzo Venditti (Movesion), sharing their experiences on the Portuguese and Italian cases, respectively. Paulo Ferreira dos Santos emphasised that regulation alone won’t solve fragmentation, and instead, success lies in adaptability and user-focused solutions. He shared a case from the Azores, where a rigid, centralised ticketing system caused major inefficiencies, showing how flexible onboard options improved pricing fairness and convenience. Vincenzo Venditti reflected on Italy’s rapid digital transformation in mobility. Movesion, operating at the B2B level, focuses on end-user experience, particularly for employees. Both panellists noted that rail and tram systems are the hardest to integrate and stressed the need to design mobility services around users, prioritising flexibility, simplicity, and accessibility to meet the growing demand for seamless, sustainable transport.
Wrapping up the summit, Roelof Hellemans, Secretary General of the MaaS Alliance, emphasised the need for stronger collaboration, trust and shared language to achieve true interoperability across borders while being user-focused, inclusive and neutral in building open mobility ecosystems.
The MaaS Alliance team will continue driving these conversations forward, bringing new stakeholders to the table to co-create a truly Open Mobility Ecosystem.
