In France, Europe and around the world, one of the major challenges of transportation law is to open up access to data. Europe aims to promote clean, connected and competitive mobility for its citizens. The transition to digital technology and innovation marks a turning point for mobility, in which MaaS (Mobility as a Service) is a central and unavoidable element. Looking back on 3 European success stories of MaaS devices to promote connected, intelligent and green mobility.
Helsinki, great ambitions for one-click travel
The Finnish capital was the first to meet the needs of its inhabitants. The MaaS Global company has developed an application, Whim, which allows to organize each of its trips. Thanks to Whim, mobility becomes a service. The application lets users organize their trips in Helsinki, whether by cab, metro, light rail, bus, car or bicycle. An application that brings together many others for more functionalities and convenience for its residents. Whim locates stations and vehicles, checks transportation schedules and availability, and above all guides users. It is possible to book, pay and validate trips, tickets and season tickets for each transport. Several packages are available so that everyone can find what they are looking for. The user just has to indicate his or her destination and the application offers the best transport options. The user just has to validate his trip and Whim sends his e-ticket in the form of a QR code.
For Helsinki, this platform is an asset. Despite a relatively expensive subscription, 499€ per month, which gives unlimited access to any means of locomotion, the city is very proud to have implemented this mobility service project. It helps reduce traffic congestion and pollution in this Finnish capital.
According to Elisabeth BORNE, former Minister of Transport in France, Finland is an exemplary country for its commitment to everyday mobility and for new regulations on connected and intelligent transport. Finland, an example for France and Europe, wants to become the world leader in tomorrow’s mobility.
In Vienna, spend 1 € per day for your mobility
Vienna is a city focused on ecological transport. Cycling is put forward with bicycle paths throughout the city. The car is excluded from the city center in order to favor pedestrians. For public transportation, most of it is electric, and residents will describe it as “reliable, well-maintained and safe”.
In June 2017, the city of Vienna with WienerLinien creates a subsidiary dedicated to MaaS, Upstream Mobility, which launches Wien Mobil. The annual subscription to use transport has been increased from 449€ to 365€ to spend 1€ per day on mobility.
Wien Mobil: Vienna MaaS application
An application that allows users to locate the various mobility services close to them, such as public transportation, self-service bicycles, car-sharing, cabs, scooters and parking lots (for available spaces). Wien Mobil is used to organize travel in a multimodal way. You also have the possibility to buy your tickets on the application. It is important to note that the application is based on an open multimodal public platform, which allows you to manage the interfaces of each of the mobility operators. Wien Mobil allows the management of calls to contact a cab, to book it… It also indicates any disruptions on the road. One third of Viennese people are users of this application.
Hanover, urban mobility accessible to all
The city of Hannover, Germany, has a strong network. There are 150 bus lines, 12 tramway lines, 9 regional train lines and 10 suburban train lines. 200 million journeys are made on this network every year, depending on the city. There are many other mobility service operators. More and more citizens are using public transportation, as well as cycling and walking.
In 2016, the MaaS application called “Mobilatsshop” or “Mobility Shop” is created by the GVH transport authority and a public transport operator (Ustra). This system provides access to various public transport services, a car-sharing service and cabs. The purpose of the application is to find and calculate the best routes with the different accessible modes of transport in the city. You can use bicycles, public transport, cabs and VTC, scooters or rental cars. Mobility Shop allows you to book your trip by choosing your means of transport and to pay directly on the application. At the basis of the project for car-sharing and cabs, payment for services had to be made to the operator. In fact, only people with an annual pass for public transport could use the application. Today, the application is accessible to all, at 9.95€. This offer covers all means of transport available in the city. The user receives a monthly invoice that is automatically debited from his or her bank account.
Mobility and your fleet management tool
In France and Europe, mobility is at the heart of the city’s challenges. The solution to changing behaviors and moving towards greener mobility is to offer a better user experience, for intelligent, multimodal mobility.
One of the measures planned by Keolis, a major player in passenger transportation, is to integrate specialized mobility modules into school curricula. These modules include reading a public transportation plan, public transit use, car sharing and car pooling. But also, learning how to cycle, walk but also how to use applications.
Velco offers Velco Fleet, the solution to manage two-wheeler fleets in the city. Thanks to connectivity, Velco Fleet secures your vehicles against theft through geolocation, offers easy maintenance for time and cost savings with data feedback from a connected tracker integrated into the vehicles, and provides a better user experience by giving them key statistics and informations about their vehicles and their journeys. In addition to improved performance for your fleet and your business, you will be able to exploit, analyze and present it through accurate reporting.