Good Practice Examples of Mobility as a Service In German Cities

Abstract

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a new way of offering sustainable mobility in cities centered on the person, i.e. the user, who chooses the way to travel to the destination according to individual preferences via a mobile application. All the necessary actions such as: planning, choosing the mobility method and paying for the trip, as well as providing all the relevant information about the trip in real time, are in the user's hands, using the application on their smartphone. By purchasing a mobility service as needed or as a monthly tariff, buying, owning and caring for your own car becomes unnecessary, which has a positive effect on city traffic and urbanism. This could become an effective way of sustainable urban mobility, which does not create traffic, but is aimed at achieving mobility through public transport and ride-sharing services or vehicles, mainly electric, which has a positive impact on the climate. Powerful and available information and communication technology and access to MaaS business models are essential prerequisites for general acceptance and increased use of the service. Objective of the research in this paper is to show the services, application and advantages of different MaaS mobile applications in 5 German cities and highlight their special features. The purpose of the paper is to show the increase in the use of sustainable modes of mobility in cities through examples of the use of MaaS mobile applications. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and suggestions for further development and improvement of mobile applications to strengthen the MaaS service.