Date: June 1, 2019
Author(s): Tomoko Kanda
Abstract
This report investigates current trends in the MaaS market in North America and how the public sector can most effectively collaborate with private companies to improve regional accessibility while protecting public interestsーsuch as equal access to transportation and job opportunities, effective traffic management to enable economic agglomeration, and safety. To clarify the opportunities for and challenges of this new technology, I study MaaS programs promoted by three leading transportation authorities: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), and Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet). Through a careful review of the literature and in-person interviews with people involved with these three authorities, I draw lessons learned from the ongoing programs and propose three potential directions that transit agencies and local governments can take in developing future mobility strategies related to MaaS.
About the Project
Mobility as a Service presents the opportunity to comprehensively shift how people travel – from personal vehicle ownership to a marketplace offering integrated trip planning, fare payment, and behavioral incentives. Increasingly, major private mobility providers, such as Uber and Lyft, are demonstrating their ambitions to be one-stop shops for urban mobility. Yet, when it comes to equity, accessibility, affordability, and use of public roadways, it is likely not in the best interest of the public to have purely privatized mobility. This project will help shape how public agencies should advance Mobility as a Service to help achieve societal goals. Project will research the Mobility as a Service market trends in North America and will identify key success factors of Mobility as a Service programs promoted by the public transportation authorities through in-depth interviews. Based on the analysis above, project will develop policy recommendations on how King County Metro should partner with private mobility service providers.