A few years ago, we would have never imagined that with a simple click, comfortably sitting on the sofa or during a trip, we would have had the opportunity to access an incredible range of movies and TV series. Then digital platforms like Netflix, Prime Video or Infinity came up and in a very short time they changed completely our habits and revolutionised our relationship with the television. Video contents moved quickly from fixed scheduled programs to more and more contents available on demand. And today the most part of us feels absolutely normal being free to choose what to watch, where and when.
The same digital transformation happened with music, with platforms, like Spotify, Amazon Music or iTunes, that made available any music contents, for all tastes and moments, always and easily on demand.
Nowadays everything is becoming increasingly available “whenever you want” and “wherever you want”, in order to meet the rapidly changing needs and habits of customers. In this digital transformation, what can we expect regarding the future of mobility?
Since the most services are becoming on demand, why shouldn’t we (the users, the people, all of us) expect that also our way of moving around and using transport services could change that radically? Why shoudn’t it become “normal” using our smartphone to findg, choose and book any transport services nearby? And why shouldn’t it be possible to do this through one single app, allowing us to be informed about and freely select from all the transport options, choosing the fastest, or the chepeast, or even the most eco-friendly one, according to the purpose of the journey, the urgency or the time of the day? And maybe we were able in the end to buy a bundle, a mobility services package, personalised and tailored to fit our specific needs, exactly like a monthly Netflix subscription. Who wouldn’t like to have a monthly mobility subscription, including all the transport services he really needs?
Now, all over the world mobility is changing and is preparing to seize the huge opportunities offered by the digital transformation. This mobility revolution has been globally called “Mobility as a Service”, universally known as “MaaS”.
MaaS is a new concept of mobility that provides the integration of multiple transport services, both public and private, into one single digital mobility service, accessible via smartphone. The service is delivered by an integrated platform with many functionalities and a single payment system, and is able to provide personalised solutions to any specific mobility needs, therefore offering all the freedom of mobility that people want. All in one single app.
It will still take some time to see a large-scale deployment of MaaS services, but the road forward is marked out and the journey has already begun.
MaaS will change the way we move, and more. As it was the case for moovies and music, also mobility will become soon an “on demand” service, following a paradigm that we at 5T have called MooD: Mobility on Demand.
In this blog we will tell you everything you need to know about the concept of Mobility as a Service. We will try to imagine how mobility will change in the near future and how our behaviours will change, too, How new players will emerge in this market and how the current business structure will evolve. How the Public Administration will be able to relate to this deep transformation. And we will try to figure out whether and how this huge digital transformation in mobility will generate benefits for the entire community.
Follow us in this journey towards the future of mobility!
Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash
