Thread by @DavidZipper

Fall seems to be the season for Mobility-as-a-Service panels and debates.

Speaking at several has led me to reflect on my own MaaS journey, summarized in the 🧵 below (w/article links).

TLDR: Despite great promise and hype, very few people use MaaS today. We need new models.

2/ I first learned about MaaS ~5 years ago. It offered a captivating vision: Leverage new technology to knit together trips on transit, bikeshare, carshare, scooters etc to improve cities and reduce private driving.

I was fascinated and wanted to learn more.

3/ 2 years ago I heard a top US transportation guru cite Helsinki as the future of urban mobility “because everyone there uses Whim, a MaaS app, to get around town.”

I then met several Finns who disagreed. That led to this article, my first about MaaS.
citylab.com/perspective/20…

4/ Neutral startup platforms weren’t the only ones promoting MaaS at the time.

Uber’s CEO said he wanted to be the “Amazon of transportation.”

That struck me as dangerous. I wrote this article warning about what I call “mobility walled gardens.”
fastcompany.com/90261748/why-u…

5/ The deeper I got into MaaS, the more I realized that *any* MaaS solution-- good or bad-- relies on government to improve transit, protect micromobility users, and price auto use higher.

But policy isn't as flashy as a slick MaaS app. So I wrote this.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

6/ Meanwhile I've been looking for an example of a MaaS platform that sparked mode shift, but I haven't found one.

A few transit agencies launched their own MaaS app (like Berlin’s Jelbi), but I don't see evidence of widespread use with those either.

7/ Finally, I pulled my ideas together and wrote this @CityLab article about thorny tensions within the MaaS B2C business model.

Other MaaS approaches might work—like B2B or a solution for car owners—but the hype of 5 years ago hasn’t panned out.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

8/ That @citylab piece drew a slew of responses, many of them smart and entertaining rebuttals. A few of note:

linkedin.com/pulse/trending…
linkedin.com/pulse/maas-bee…
whimapp.com/maas-is-like-a…
linkedin.com/posts/boyd-coh…

9/ I’m still searching for evidence MaaS can meet its hype. But I’m not sure how, unless brave public officials lift transit + micromobility and suppress driving.

A city like Mayor Hidalgo's Paris could be a MaaS hotbed —*if* MaaS biz models work.
forbes.com/sites/carltonr…

10/ For more info, the OECD’s @ITF_Forum has an intriguing new report of MaaS: itf-oecd.org/pricing-and-ef…

To be clear, I want car-light cities to thrive. I just don’t see evidence (yet) that MaaS will get us there.

Want to tell me why I’m wrong? Have data to share? I'm all ears.