Policymakers and venture capital firms love the idea of Mobility-as-a-Service. The public hasn't proven as receptive, despite the willingness to download apps by the millions.
David Zipper writes on the stalled progress of Mobility-as-a-Service companies in capturing the hearts and minds of the world's commuters and movers.
Zipper defines Mobility as a Service (MaaS) as an online platform, usually an app, that allows users to choose from all available transportation modes.
Count Uber among the companies championing the idea of MaaS, and the market has been flooded with apps hoping to deliver on the concept: "MaaS’s most prominent champions have been a group of popular startups offering slick apps like Citymapper, Transit and MaaS Global (the company behind Whim)." Zipper also notes that cities as geographically disparate as Berlin and Louisville have gotten into the MaaS game.
The public has responded with interest from these efforts by the private and public sectors: "Millions of users across Europe, North America, and Asia have downloaded these apps, and venture capital firms endorsing their vision of a multimodal urban future have invested tens of millions of dollars."
But that interest is proving tentative and potentially temporary. "MaaS’s momentum ('MaaSmentum'?) is at risk of stalling," according to Zipper. "To date, MaaS companies have found limited traction among urban residents, even in favorable markets," according to Zipper."
The article includes a lot more detail about the challenges in building consumer preference and commercial traction for MaaS platforms.
FULL STORY: The Problem With ‘Mobility as a Service’
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.