Mobility as a service: What does it mean for society?
Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a popular interpretation of future collaborative and connected urban transportation, centred on a changing society embracing a sharing culture which can satisfy our mobility needs without owning assets such as a car.
Example of a mobility subscription plan under MaaS
What is Mobility as a Service?
Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a popular interpretation of future collaborative and connected urban transportation, centred on a changing society embracing a sharing culture which can satisfy our mobility needs without owning assets such as a car.听
MaaS emerges because of opportunities afforded by digital information platforms to plan and deliver multimodal mobility options in point-to-point trips and/or first-and-last mile travel to public transport journeys.
MaaS packages will provide consumers with seamless mobility options with integrated payments through a single app in much the same way as unified telco packages provide users with a choice of mobile minutes, data and text options.
Over the past four years, the听Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies听at the University of Sydney Business School has been undertaking research into what impact MaaS will have on future societies.听
Led by the Director of the Institute, Professor听, and Professor Emerita听, the research aims to uncover what MaaS will mean for both consumers and suppliers in the future.听
Professor Hensher says that "we need to know what packages consumers will want and how much they are willing to pay, while on the supply side, what the governance issues are and the implications for the way in which governments procure collective transport."
The recently completed Sydney MaaS trial study helps advance the knowledge in this space. On the demand side, we now know that every-day travellers are seeking in MaaS a way to save on transport costs and simplify their travel. This raises the need for designing mobility bundles that balance customer experience with societal goals and commercial outcomes to create value for all. On the supply side, trust and collaboration among key stakeholders, together with direct involvement of public authorities, emerge as critical in delivering MaaS promises, including improved efficiency and environmental sustainability.
There is also a current imperative to understand the barriers to disruption. The five key barriers include:
- The momentum barrier, in that potential switchers/users are accustomed to the status quo.
- The technology-implementation barrier, which could be overcome by existing technology reflected in the digital platforms of today.
- The ecosystem barrier, which requires a change in the business environment to overcome.
- The new technologies barrier, which is the technology required to change the competitive landscape and which may not yet exist (this is linked to future digital platforms).
- The business model barrier, whereby a disrupter would have to adopt the cost structure of existing providers on part or all of their MaaS offering such as an Uber or single mode public transport provider.
The Maas team brings together key contributors Dr听, Professor听听and Professor听, Honorary Associate Yale Wong and PhD student听James Bushell听with a wide range of industry domestic and international partners.听
Industry partners involved in research activities include iMOVE, IAG, SkedGo, Transport for NSW, Transport Systems Catapult (UK), the Department of Transportation and Logistics Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, City of Edmonton (Canada), BusNSW, Busvic, Bus Industry Confederation, Busways Group, Buslink Queensland and Metro Trains Australia.听
Related research
Published
Hensher, D.A., Nelson, J.D. and Mulley, C. (2022) , Transport Policy, 听116, 212-216.
Hensher, D.A. and Xi, H. Online March 7 2022 as Editorial for Transport Reviews.
Hensher, D.A., Ho, C. and Reck, D.听 (2021) Mobility as a Service and private car use: evidence from the Sydney MaaS trial, Corrigendum to "Mobility as a service and private car use: Evidence from the sydney MaaS trial" [Transp. Res. Part A 145 (2021) 17-33]. Transportation Research Part A, 145,17-33.听
Hensher, D.A., Ho., C, Reck, D., Smith, G., Lorimer, S and Lu, I. (2021) , 245 pp. including Appendices A to I. iMOVE final report and a monograph, March 19.
Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (2021) A Topical Issues Paper, Transport Policy, 100, 172-175. See also
Hensher, D.A., Mulley, C. and Nelson J.D. (2021) Transport Policy,111, 153-156.听
Ho, C.Q., Hensher, D.A. and Reck, D. (2021) Drivers of participant鈥檚 choices of monthly mobility bundles: key findings from the Sydney Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Trial, Transportation Research Part C, 124 (5). 102932.听
Ho, C. Hensher, D.A., Reck, D., Lorimer, S and Lu, I. MaaS bundle design and implementation: Lessons from the Sydney MaaS Trial, Transportation Research Part A, 149, 339-376.听
Wong, Y. and Hensher, D.A. (2021) , (presented at the 16th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 16), Singapore August 2019), Transportation, 48 (4), 1837-1863.
Hensher, D.A. (2020) What might Covid-19 mean for mobility as a service (MaaS)? Transport Reviews, 40 (5), 551-556.听 See also a slightly longer version at 听
Reck, D.J., Hensher, D.A. and Ho, C. (2020) MaaS Bundle Designs, Transportation Research Part A, 141, 485-501.
Hensher, D.A., Mulley, C., Ho, C., Nelson, J., Smith, G. and Wong, Y. (2020) ''.听Elsevier, 听May 2020 (softcover and e-book). ISBN 9780128200445.听
Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (Guest editors) (2020) , Transportation Research Part A, 131, 1-4.
Ho, C., Mulley, C.听and听Hensher, D. A. 2020 ''.听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,听131, 70-90.
Ho, C., Mulley, C. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) , prepared for special issue of Transportation Research Part A on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility Guest Edited by David Hensher and Corinne Mulley, 131, 70-90.
Merkert, R. and Beck M. J. 2020 鈥樷��.听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 132, 527-539.
Merkert, R., Bushell, J., and Beck, M. J. 2020 鈥樷��.听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice,听131, 267-282.
Mulley, C., Ho, C., Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A., Stevens, L., Nelson, J. and Wright. S. (2020) Prepared for special issue of Transportation Research Part A on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility, Guest Edited by David Hensher and Corinne Mulley, 131, 107-122.听
Mulley, C., Ho, C., Balbontin, C., Hensher, D., Stevens, N., Nelson, J. and Wright, S. 2020 鈥樷��. Transportation Research Part A, 131, 107-122.
Smith, G. and Hensher, D. A. 2020 鈥樷��. Presented at the听16thInternational Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport听(Thredbo 16),听Singapore August 2019.听Transport Policy, 89, 54-65.
Wong, Y. Z.听and Hensher, D. A. 2020 鈥樷��.听Transportation.
Wong, Y., Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C.M. (2020) , paper presented at the 15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17 August 2017. (Linked to VREF Centre), revised in 2018 for special issue of Transportation Research Part A on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility Guest Edited by David Hensher and Corinne Mulley, 131, 5-19.
Wong, Y. Z., Hensher, D. A. and Mulley, C. 2020 鈥樷��.听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 131, 5-19.
Mulley, C., Nelson, J. D.听and听Hensher, D. A. 2019 ''. In听Stanley, J.听and听Hensher, D. A.听(Eds.),听A Research Agenda for Transport Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing. 听ISBN: 978 1 78897 019 8.
Mulley, C.听and Kronsell, A. 2018 ''. In Alexandersson, G.,听Hensher, D. A.听and听Steel, R.听(Eds.), Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (Selected papers from the Thredbo 15 conference).听Research in Transportation Economics, 69, 568-572.
Hensher, D. A. 2018 ''.听Transport Policy.
Hensher, D. A. 2017 ''.听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 98, 86-96.
Mulley, C. 2017 ''.听Transport Reviews, 37(3), 247-251.
Mulley, C., Nelson, J. D.听and Wright, S. 2017 ''. Paper presented at the听2017 World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research (WSTLUR), Brisbane, Australia, 3-6 July.
Ho, C., Hensher, D. A., Mulley, C.听and听Wong, Y. Z. 2017 'Prospects for switching out of conventional transport services to mobility as a service subscription plans鈥擜 stated choice study'. Paper presented at the听15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17 August.
Wong, Y. Z., Hensher, D. A.听and听Mulley, C. 2017 'Emerging transport technologies and the modal efficiency framework: A case for mobility as a service (MaaS)'. Paper presented at the听15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17 August.
For a full copy of papers without links, please contact听business.itls@sydney.edu.au.
Now available
Bushell, J. 'Strategies for coordinating public transport ecosystems鈥擳he value of seamlessness and the future of smart ticketing platforms', PhD research on transport integration and system integrity. For further details of this study, please contact James Bushell at听james.bushell@sydney.edu.au.
Wong, Y. Z.听and听Hensher, D. A.听(and other authors) 'The role of autonomous taxis in future urban transport systems worldwide'. Joint paper with ETH Z眉rich, Bandung Institute of Technology, University of California (UC) at Davis, University of Connecticut, State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, nuTonomy Asia, Southwest Jiaotong University and University of Chile. Paper submitted to听Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. For further details of this study, please contact Yale Wong at听yale.wong@sydney.edu.au.
Wong, Y. Z. 'Integrated mobility services and contractual structures', PhD research using stated choice methods to identify the structure of broker/aggregator mobility contracts. For further details of this study, please contact Yale Wong at听yale.wong@sydney.edu.au.
Final report
Hensher, D.A., Ho., C., Reck, D., Smith, G., Lorimer, S. and Lu, I. (2021) The Sydney Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Trial: design, implementation, lessons and the future including Appendices A to K. iMOVE draft final report and a monograph, March.
Trial specific papers听 听
Ho, C.Q., Hensher, D.A. and Reck, D. (2021) Drivers of participant鈥檚 choices of monthly mobility bundles: key听findings from the Sydney Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Trial, Transportation Research Part C, online 29 December 2020, 124. 102932.听 听
Hensher, D.A., Ho, C. and Reck, D. (2021) Mobility as a Service and private car use: evidence from the Sydney听MaaS trial, Transportation Research Part A, 145, 17-33.听 听
Ho, C. Hensher, D.A., Reck, D., Lorimer, S and Lu, I. MaaS bundle design and implementation: Lessons from the Sydney MaaS Trial, submitted to Transportation Research Part A, revised 10 February 2021听 听
Smith, G., Hensher, D.A., Ho, C. and Balbontin, C. The user perspective on Mobility-as-a-Service: Insights from听a trial in Sydney. Submitted to Transportation, 24 December 2020.听 听
Sarkar, N., Ho, C. and Hensher D.A. How does Mobility as a Service (MaaS) change travel behaviour? Submitted to Journal of Public Transportation, 21 December 2020.听
During the Project听 听
Hensher, D.A., Mulley, C. and Nelson J.D. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) 鈥� Going Somewhere or Nowhere? Submitted to听Transport Policy, Topical Issues Section, 10 February 2021听
Ho, C., Mulley, C. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) Public preferences for mobility as a service: insights from stated听preference surveys,听Transportation Research Part A听on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility Guest Edited by听David Hensher and Corinne Mulley, 131, 70-90.听
Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (Guest editors) (2020) Introduction to Special issue on developments in mobility as a service (MaaS) and intelligent mobility, Transportation Research Part A, 131, 1-4.听
Hensher, D.A. (2020) What might Covid-19 mean for mobility as a service (MaaS)? Transport Reviews, 40 (5), 551-556. See also a slightly longer version at听
Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (2020) Mobility bundling and cultural tribalism - might passenger mobility plans through MaaS remain niche or are they truly scalable? A Topical Issues Paper,听Transport Policy, 100, 172-175.听
See also听
Hensher, D.A., Mulley, C., Ho, C., Nelson, J., Smith, G. and Wong, Y. (2020)听Understanding Mobility as a听Service (MaaS) - Past, Present and Future. Elsevier, 204 pp. ISBN 9780128200445.听 听
Smith, G. and Hensher, D.A. (2020) Towards a framework for Mobility as a Service policies, (presented at the听16th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport听(Thredbo 16),听Singapore August 2019) Transport Policy, 89, 54-65.听
Mulley, C., Ho, C., Balbontin, C., Hensher, D.A., Stevens, L., Nelson, J. and Wright. S. (2020) Mobility as a听service in community transport, in Australia: can it provide a sustainable future? of听Transportation听Research Part A听on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility, Guest Edited by David Hensher and Corinne Mulley,听131, 107-122.听
Reck, D.J., Hensher, D.A. and Ho, C. (2020) MaaS Bundle Designs,听Transportation Research Part A, 141, 485-501.
Reck, D.J., K.W. Axhausen, D.A. Hensher, and C.Q. Ho Multimodal transportation plans: empirical evidence on听uptake, usage and behavioral implications from the Augsburg MaaS Trial; paper prepared for presentation at the听Transportation Research Board Annual Conference, Washington DC, January 2021, accepted for presentation 2 October 2020.
Wong, Y., Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C.M. (2020) Emerging transport technologies and the modal efficiency听framework: a case for mobility as a service (MaaS), paper presented at the听15th International Conference听on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport听(Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17
Hensher, D., Mulley, C., Ho, C., Nelson, J., Smith, G. and Wong, Y. (2019) Understanding MaaS: Past, Present听and Future, paper prepared for presentation at the 2nd International Conference on Mobility as a Service,听Tampere, Finland, November 2019.听 听 听听
Wong, Y. and Hensher, D.A. Delivering mobility as a service (MaaS) through a broker/aggregator business model,听(presented at the 16th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger听Transport (Thredbo 16), Singapore August 2019), Transportation,
August 2017.听Transportation Research Part A听on MaaS and Intelligent Mobility Guest Edited by David听Hensher and Corinne Mulley, 131, 5-19.听
笔谤别鈥怭谤辞箩别肠迟
Mulley, C., Nelson, J. and Hensher, D.A. (2019) Intelligent Mobility and Mobility as a Service, in Stanley, J.K.听and Hensher, D.A. (eds.)听A Research Agenda for Transport Policy,听Edward Elgar publishers, Chapter 21,听187-195.听
Wong, Y.Z., Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (2019) Mode-agnostic mobility contracts: Identifying听broker/aggregator models for delivering mobility as a service (MaaS),听World Conference on Transport听Research听- WCTR 2019 Mumbai 26-31 May 2019. Also presented at the January 2019听Transportation听Research Board Annual Conference, Washington D.C.听听
Ho, C., Hensher, D.A., Mulley, C.M. and Wong, Y. (2018) Potential uptake and willingness-to-pay for Mobility as a Service (MaaS): A stated choice study, (paper presented at the 15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17听August 2017), Transportation Research Part A, 117, 302-318.听 听
Wong, Y.Z., Hensher, D.A. and Mulley, C. (2018)Mode-agnostic mobility contracts: Identifying broker/aggregator models for delivering mobility as a service (MaaS), paper presented at the Australasian Transport Research Forum, November 2018, Darwin. This paper won the David Willis Prize for best听paper.听 听
Hensher, D.A. (2017) Future bus transport contracts under mobility as a service regime in the digital age: are they likely to change? (Presented at the听15th International Conference on Competition and Ownership of Land听Passenger Transport听(Thredbo 15), Stockholm, Sweden, 13-17 August 2017)听Transportation Research Part A, 98, April, 86-96. (Third most cited paper as of December 2020). Third most cited paper in TR A as of December 2020.
Hensher, D. A., Ho, C., Nelson, J., Mulley, C., and Wong, Y. 2019-2021 鈥楳obility as a Service (MaaS) Trial: User Behaviour Analytics鈥�. A partnership through the iMOVE CRC involving ITLS, IAG and Skedgo. 听
Mulley, C., Hensher, D. A.听and听Nelson, J. D. 2016-18 'Mobility as a service: A future direction for community transport?'. University of Sydney Business School Partnership grant in conjunction with five Community Transport Organisations.
Ho., C., Mulley, C., and听Hensher, D. A. 2018 'Public preferences and willingness to pay for mobility as a service (MaaS) in a UK context'. Report in preparation for Transport Systems Catapult.
Stanley, J., Hensher, D. A.听and听Wong, Y. Z. 2018 'Disruptive technology: A better future for land passenger transport? Bus and Coach Industry Policy Paper 11'.听Report in preparation for Bus Industry Confederation.
Hensher, D. 2020 'Transport of Tomorrow online: Mobility as a Service progress and new insights from an Australian trial'. .听
Wong, Y.Z. 2019 'Showcasing ITLS: Shining the spotlight on our MaaS research.' .
Wong, Y.Z. 2019 'Mobility as a Service (MaaS): An emerging concept in urban transportation'. Download the seminar presentation (PDF, 251KB)
Hensher, D.A. 2018 'Shared mobility and public transport鈥擜 new future!'听Panel on shared mobility, International Transport Economics Association (ITEA) Annual Conference, Hong Kong, 27-29 June.
Mulley, C. 2018 'Prospects for switching out of conventional transport services to mobility as a service subscription plans鈥擜 stated choice study', based on a paper by听Ho, C., Hensher, D. A., Mulley, C.听and听Wong, Y. Z.听Universities Transport Studies Group (UTSG), London, UK, 3-5 January.
Mulley, C. 2017 'Prospects for switching out of conventional transport services to mobility as a service subscription plans鈥擜 stated choice study', based on a paper by听Ho, C., Hensher, D. A., Mulley, C.听and听Wong, Y. Z.听1st International Conference on Mobility as a Service (ICoMaaS), Tampere, Finland, 28-29 November.
Wong, Y. Z. 2017 'Bus contracts, business models and MaaS鈥擶hat might they look like?'听Bus Industry Confederation National Conference: Moving People鈥擬obility as a Service, Hobart, Australia, 12-15 November.听.
Hensher, D. A. 2017 'Digital public transport in an era of sharing and collaborative mobility'. Plenary opening address, Roads Australia (RA) National Roads Summit, Sydney, Australia, 31 May-1 June.
Mulley, C. 2017 'Mobility as a service: Where is it going?'听Business Breakfast: Mobility as a Service, Aberdeen, UK, 26 April.
For full copies of these presentations, please contact听business.itls@sydney.edu.au.