“It’s a unicorn, and the dynamic for MaaS in the UK is very different to other markets that we see globally”, says Siemens Intelligent Mobility’s Matt Dacey, “because, by and large, we have a privately run transport network in the UK, so there’s an interesting dynamic between local authorities and sub national transport authorities who want to run MaaS schemes and MaaS platforms, and the private operators who want to retain that direct relationship with the customer and are reluctant to relinquish any margin on ticketing to third parties without any proof that it’s going to increase patronage and increase revenues”.
At TRANSPORT Smart Class, North of England 2023, Matt’s joint presentation with Padam Mobility’s Jack Holland explored different ways to deliver Mobility-as-a-Service into the UK market, reduce barriers to entry and improve the long-term commercial viability.
The subsequent roundtable discussions enabled Matt and Jack to delve deeper into their vision for MaaS and dynamic DRT with all delegates in attendance.
Presentation highlights:
- Why MaaS for Local Authorities?
- Valuable data for origin and destination patterns which have changed significantly since lockdown but are not reflected by our existing transport networks;
- Driving down carbon emissions and improving air quality are at the heart of MaaS and driving travellers to use more sustainable modes of transport;
- Reduce car dependency and improve congestion, but with a focus on very specific KPIs such as reducing single occupancy car journeys by 10% at peak commuter times;
- Improve transport equity by allowing travellers the opportunity to find routes and services adapted to their needs; Integrate DDRT and paratransit services into existing services;
- Help consolidate often fragmented mobility ecosystems and act as orchestrator for increased cooperation and an integrated network;
- Promote healthier travel and encourage walking and cycling through a customisable multi-modal journey planner; Improved data to locate cycle racks etc;
- Mobility Hubs and interchange points are critical to coordinate an integrated transport network and a MaaS solution is vital to help facilitate and provide insight to optimise their performance;
- Work with local employers to improve accessibility and offer discounts for travel e.g. for key workers;
- The UK Market for MaaS – A different dynamic;
- MaaS 1.0 Commercial Model – “The Elephant in the Room” is the long-term commercial viability of projects and this model is hindered by its reliance on taking a margin on ticketing sales from third-party MSPs;
- A Different Way to Think About MaaS – “Stepping Stones” and an “Iterative Process”: How can you think about MaaS as a journey and not as a singular project that you have to launch all at once?
- All trips start with a plan – Intermodal Routing: Starting with a bespoke journey planner is a good first step – it allows you to understand customers behaviours and identify transportation blackspots which can then be plugged with micromobility or DRT;
- A multi-tenanted platform is the future for MaaS – Licensing APIs to third parties de-risks the investment required to launch a MaaS platform, reduces the initial up front cost and increases the long-term viability of projects: This model has been successfully implemented in countries such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands;
- Collaboration – “Love thy neighbour”: The role of a TfN could be very big when it comes to MaaS – they could procure the technology and then disseminate it amongst the all the local authorities in their region, instead of fragmenting the market;
- B2B licensing – There’s a big future for B2B MaaS or hyper-localised MaaS. Large scale employers (e.g. an airport, hospital, business part or science park) could provide a white label MaaS platform for employees with an integrated mobility wallet. Drivers of this B2B market include the workplace parking levy (so successful in Nottingham), road user charging and impending changes from HMRC that will allow employers to pay for more sustainable modes of transport;
- Sponsorship – Get a large employer in your region to sponsor a MaaS platform NB. Precedents such as Santander subsidising bikes in London;
- DRT as a pathway to MaaS – There are probably around 50 digitalised DRTs in the UK, nearly all in rural areas, and 1000 community transport operators whose DRT or fixed line services could become digitalised as well. Another way to have a MaaS like model is to integrate fixed route services and multimodal journey planning into DRT apps: A model which is “Bus DRT and maybe one or two other modes of transport, with an integrated journey planner as a stepping stone to MaaS in rural areas and at a relatively low budget”
If you meet our regular delegate qualification criteria but were unable to join us at Nexus, University of Leeds, for the live in-person event on May 25th, CLICK HERE and complete the short “Download form” (located at the bottom of the post) to receive a unique link enabling free access to the presentation video recordings and slides (including the film footage and slides from Matt and Jack’s presentation).
Those qualifying to receive the rich presentation content from this event include commissioning, procurement, trialling, partnering and policy leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers and planners from local authorities (e.g. city, borough, metropolitan, district and county councils); public transport operators; regional transport partnerships, sub-regional transport bodies, combined authorities, integrated transport authorities and passenger transport executives; highways authorities and road operators; government and supporting national transport agencies; fleet operators, parking operators, prime contractors etc.
