Mobility as a Service Association (MaaS-A) Addresses Needs of Contemporary Travelers
Mobility as a Service Association (MaaS-A) Addresses Needs of Contemporary Travelers
VIRGINIA (June 26, 2018) – MaaS-A is a new, not-for-profit organization launched to champion integrated mobility services across all modes of transportation that more effectively address the needs of the contemporary traveler.
The Mobility as a Service Association (MaaS-A) will focus on seamless, multimodal mobility – electronic payment, ticketing, and personal navigation services that help a traveler plan and move from point A to point B. MaaS-A will serve the specific needs of the U.S. market; it will work to enhance transportation and provide greater public access to services through integrated technology.
MaaS-A defines MaaS as: “The seamless, infinitely adaptable delivery of mobility.” This happens together with the associated real-time information and payment services, and across all modes of transportation. MaaS is opaque to the traveler but simple to access and use.
MaaS-A’s co-founders are Jack Opiola and Tim McGuckin. Opiola, an expert among American and international ITS sectors, will serve as Executive Director; and McGuckin, a 25-year transportation industry veteran and U.S. CEO of MaaS provider A-to-Be, will serve as the organization’s first president.
“We are witnessing changes in the mobility sector that are truly seismic,” observes Opiola. “Handheld and wearable smart devices are revolutionizing our ability to plan, navigate, and make journey decisions on the move. Traditional notions of mobility are being challenged.”
MaaS is an emerging world-wide trend. However, there is also no ‘one-size-fits-all’ model that translates across varying geographic locations. The U.S. mobility environment is unique and has specific needs, and MaaS-A will concentrate on creating the best multimodal solutions to be applied domestically. It will pursue the integration of transportation modes and value-added services, which encompass the car and connected and autonomous vehicles.
Numerous developments already place traditional mobility concepts under severe pressure, and urbanization is outpacing cities’ ability to cope with the demand for mobility. The information and communication technologies exist to support MaaS, but the transportation community need to better integrate these technologies in order to simplify travel for people, improve efficiency for government, and create new private-sector opportunities.
“All three stakeholders — government, industry and travelers — must align,” McGuckin states. “We need to build the right political and legislative environments. We need to create the right frameworks for delivery to help both the public and private sectors achieve their mobility goals.”
MaaS-A offers a forum and a voice for industry, government, and academia to share and contribute knowledge and create best practices. The organization will offer networking, communications, and financial and policy development tools to address the country’s transportation needs and provide Americans with a seamless, integrated mobility experience that reflects how they live their lives today.
To learn more about Mobility as a Service and MaaS-A, visit https://www.maas-a.org/.