Mobility as a Service took centre stage once again, this time in Paris, as ERTICO – ITS Europe highlighted its MaaS initiatives during the recent Urban Mobility Summit, attended by Europe’s most influential leaders, policymakers and innovators in the field of urban transportation and infrastructure.

ERTICO – ITS Europe used this event to put forward its work on urban mobility, of which MaaS is one of its most prominent initiatives. The summit was ultimately a great opportunity for representatives from both the public and private sector to partake in a constructive discussion on smart mobility solutions for future travel options.

Jacob Bangsgaard, CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe and President of the MaaS Alliance, together with ERTICO – ITS Europe’s senior manager responsible for MaaS, Piia Karjalainen, spoke about the need to create and back an open ecosystem for the MaaS concept, allowing the consolidation of several forms of transport into one mobility service accessible on demand. Since its foundation in 2015, the MaaS Alliance has progressed considerably and now counts almost 60 international members. This brisk progression, together with an ever-increasing public interest proves that end users are gradually shifting from ownership to access and on-demand transport services in urban transport.

In Mr Bangsgaard own words, “There is no winner takes it all. It is important to strengthen the collaboration between the public and private sectors and to create coordinated activities when it comes to the development of MaaS. A successful MaaS service not only meets travellers’ mobility needs and solves the inconvenient parts of individual journeys, but also brings new business models and services to complement and integrate the existing offerings. MaaS is not so much about getting rid of the car, but more about having access to one when you need it, together with the other modes of transport.”