Driving Change: Mobility As a Service

Technology has reshaped resident lives in many ways, with the rise of the sharing economy generally and transit-network companies (TNCs) for the mobility space being prime examples. The next frontier is predicted to be mobility as a service (MaaS), the aggregation of routing and payment across multiple modes of travel—train, bus, car, micromobility (e.g., bike, electric scooters, etc.), autonomous vehicles and others. 

Public entities need to find a way to be relevant to this new industry. Otherwise, they risk being sidelined, resulting in sub-optimal mobility outcomes, including harms to equity, air quality and traffic. Transit agencies have some important assets already, starting with a suite of mobility options that have established preferential infrastructure in many locations (e.g., bus stops, heavy rail, stations, etc.).