Report on 'Mobility as a Service (MaaS): A digital roadmap for public transport authorities'

A new Mobility Report, with core themes of decarbonisation and digitalisation, has been published by the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE). It explains that the use of new technology alone will not be enough to achieve the Commission’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals and that adopting broad new regulations will be necessary.

Authors Yves Crozet and Jean Coldefy argue that MaaS sits at the crossroads of the digital revolution and the transition to carbon neutrality. The report provides a digital roadmap for organising mobility authorities (OMAs). Specifically, it recommends that OMAs would be well positioned to help build a mobility sector capable of achieving the Commission’s objectives if they:

• Establish clear rules for fair competition;
• Adopt a broad approach to regulation; and
• Leverage digitalisation and data.

Clear rules for fair competition

Commuters must be able to benefit from innovative technology, products and services offered by new companies – including digital ticketing, which means that the provision of information and ticket sales should not remain a monopoly, but that at the same time OMAs should establish a clear set of rules to ensure fair competition and position themselves at the heart of data sharing management.

A broad approach to regulation

Ensuring that transportation systems further the EU’s climate change commitments requires more than just new technology: it also requires a significant change in how urban transportation is regulated. The report suggests using regulation to help develop multimodal mobility in urban and suburban areas, where individual car travel remains the favoured mode of transport.

Leveraging the power of digitalisation and data

The report notes that digitalisation presents a unique chance for OMAs to introduce intelligent pricing into transportation systems. Pricing incentivises users to behave in a more virtuous and sustainable manner, such as reducing rush hour travel and limiting the use of personal vehicles, therefore, the overall price of mobility – including the use of cars – must be considered. Crucially, implementing such intelligent pricing systems first requires OMAs to be able to leverage the power of data.

The authors have concluded that: "For the digital revolution to be fully exploited and fulfil its true potential, MaaS must be seen as a way of managing the common good through the creation of another common good, namely, a public data platform. By combining public transport supply and data, OMAs will be able to successfully develop and implement multimodal solutions that will further the EU’s climate and digitalisation goals."  

This report is available to download in both English and French here.