Mobility as a Service Market

The growing number of transport services in cities, along with advances in technology, have led to the development of MaaS, which can be integrated with various transport services under a single platform. The MaaS platforms can be used as a one-stop solution for travel planning and their subsequent payments, thereby providing seamless mobility services to consumers. The integration of MaaS with various mobility modes such as Cars, motorcycles, and Buses has shifted present ownership-based transportation system to an on-demand model. Rapid urbanization leading to high-quality services offered by active players in the transportation industry are some of the factors driving the growth of the market. However, high cost of commute is expected to limit the adoption of these services affecting the growth during the forecast period.

According to the United Nations, by 2030, approximately 5 billion of the world’s total population of 8.1 billion is projected to shift to urban areas, thereby increasing the need for urban transportation services. This adversely affects the climate, increases traffic and congestion, and causes serious health problems. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution leads to the death of around 2 million people every year, a primary source of the pollution being emissions from vehicles. Therefore, it is essential to minimize The US e of Private vehicles and shift toward more sustainable modes of transport. MaaS integrates a range of mobility services such as Cars, motorcycles, and Buses to efficiently limit the number of vehicles on the roads and reduce congestion in cities. Furthermore, MaaS enables people to use Carpool schemes and use shared means of transportation.

Over the past few years, several countries in the world are undergoing a considerable transformation in mobility services with the emergence of new technologies across the automotive industry. The growing Internet access and the rising use of smartphones in developing economies are likely to increase the adoption of technology-enabled mobility solutions. For instance, Japan, China, and India are poised to transform their transportation services by shifting toward new mobility solutions. For instance, several Car manufacturers in Japan are aiming at making their mobility services more affordable and flexible. Toyota Motor Corporation invested around USD 500 million in Uber Technologies in order to support the latter’s self-driving technology for enhancing Japanese mobility services.

Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to transform mobility services with The US e of light detection and ranging (LiDAR), radar, GPS, and computer vision. These technologies offer situational awareness to the vehicles about their surroundings with the help of sensors and 360° cameras, which lowers the probability of road accidents.

Additionally, autonomous vehicle technology can considerably decrease fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). For instance, the autonomous vehicle technology supports smart and green routing, which can lead to energy savings of up to 10%, by avoiding traffic and selecting shorter routes with fewer stops. Recently, a number of automobile manufacturers and technology companies invested significantly in autonomous vehicle technology. For instance, In November 2018, Baidu, Inc., a Chinese multinational technology company, partnered with Volvo Group, a Swedish multinational automobile manufacturing company, for developing electric and fully autonomous electric vehicles in China. According to the KPMG’s autonomous vehicles readiness index 2019, Singapore is ranked second globally in terms of readiness to adopt autonomous vehicle technology in the years to come. The Government of Singapore has also announced that driverless shuttles and Buses will be available for on-demand commuting during off-peak hours in Jurong Innovation District (JID), Tengah, and Punggol, from 2022.

The adoption of autonomous vehicles equipped with MaaS helps to save operating costs by eliminating the need for drivers. Also, as autonomous vehicles are potentially safer, they are better to be used in MaaS rather than human-piloted taxis. For instance, Didi Chuxing Technology Co., a key player in the Chinese MaaS market, is focusing on developing self-driving vehicles for Public transport to compete with rival companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Grab. Thus, investing in autonomous vehicle technologies is a lucrative opportunity for MaaS vendors.

Digitalization of transportation networks using analytical capabilities and cutting-edge technologies such as automation, AI, and IoT increases the efficiency of the transportation system. The US e of real-time telematics solutions, cloud platforms, and GPS technology further streamlines and optimizes transportation operations and provides visibility to the entire transportation process. However, these connected technologies also bring cybersecurity challenges. The systems are still lagging in terms of security solutions for protecting the fleet data on cloud platforms and network devices. The communication between IoT devices is often unencrypted and unauthenticated as it is largely considered innocuous for multiple applications. There is a high risk of data breaches due to the unencrypted communication between the IoT devices. Moreover, the cloud platform is highly prone to cyberattacks such as data breaches owing to the low-security measures. With the growing adoption of smart devices and applications for managing the fleet data, it has become easy for cybercriminals to access these devices and hack sensitive information such as fleet data, supply chain information, and location updates. As a result, all the information is subjected to visibility by unauthorized users. One of the major reasons for the lack of data security is the limited adoption of data security solutions and lack of technical expertise. Therefore, privacy & security concerns are expected to hamper the growth of the global mobility as a service market.

The process of getting a MaaS license is very complex, and the operators need to comply with various government requirements to acquire these licenses and other mandatory certificates. Moreover, due to increasing traffic concerns and initiatives to reduce pollution, the complexity of getting Business licenses has increased significantly. Regulating this market is a complex challenge, which involves uncertain timing, authorities at various levels and departments of government, and many issues regarding the vehicles and passenger safety. The organizations and authorities in charge of Public transport are usually different from those managing roads and Public places. The regulators and policymakers have to play a critical role and strive for societal benefits. The government must take the responsibility to safeguard the citizens and implement MaaS in the best possible way.