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Mobility as a Service (MaaS): a master key for public areas

16.09.2022

With the proliferation of mobility services, moving around in suburban public areas has never been as easy as it is today. However, users sometimes have difficulty finding their way through the multitude of alternatives on offer and juggling the different pricing formulas. With Maas (Mobility as a Service), users now have an integrated digital tool to simplify their lives... and the city.  

For a long time, the private car was the dominant mode of transport in suburban public areas, but it has lost its primacy in favour of the multimodal solutions developed in urban areas. New local and regional schemes are emerging in which public transport (trains, buses, coaches, underground railways, trams, etc.), car sharing and active mobility solutions (bicycles, scooters, etc.) are favoured by local authorities. As a result, mobility is no longer dependent on private car use. Other collateral benefits include saving money at a time of rising energy costs and contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a welcome development for the environment. But this coin may have a downside: a lack of clarity in the range of available systems. To help users appropriate public areas in a new way, suitable tools have been designed to provide them with mobility as a service (MaaS).

MaaS, the digital "Swiss Army knife" of mobility

MaaS is a comprehensive digital platform (accessible via a smartphone application) that integrates all functionalities that make it easier for a user to move around in a given area. Like the Moov'Hub solution developed by Mobility by Colas, it enables users to:

  • model their route by comparing distances, times and costs according to the available transport options (a GPS navigator with enhanced features);
  • locate parking spaces and charging points for their electric vehicles;
  • pay for (and validate) their public transport or parking tickets or passes from a single account.

Designed to promote the advantages of intermodality and multimodality to users, MaaS is a tailor-made service that adapts to urban planning and its developments. It makes it easier for the local and regional authorities to monitor the use of mobility and transport infrastructures. This contributes to adapting the mobility services in the area and making them more attractive, to improving the access and inclusion of residents living in the outskirts of cities and hence to promote a mobility policy for all.

 

Moov'Hub is a comprehensive regional and local solution that includes a tailor-made range of mobility and parking services. We support local authorities in developing the attractiveness of their area by observing mobility needs, adapting mobility services according to the practices of users, encouraging changes in behaviour (favouring particular services during peak pollution times, reducing private car use) or even by connecting isolated areas by promoting intermodality. The aim is to improve the planning and sharing of urban areas.