MaaS Market Conferences on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018

1846 ITS International’s second, two-day international MaaS Market conference takes place on 20 and 21 February 2018. The Mobility as a Service (8356 MaaS) event is ideal for all organisations exploring new ways of getting people to their destination and new methods for them to pay for transport services.

Next year’s conference follows the successful launch at the same venue last March and will chart the progress made in the number and scope of MaaS projects in the past twelve months.

It comes as interest in Mobility as a Service reaches unprecedented heights as a growing number of government and local authorities look for new ways to deal with transportation crises in both urban and rural areas alike.

The economic impact of severe congestion and poor connectivity, along with increasing concerns about the health of citizens living in areas of poor air quality are creating huge political pressure for change.

This potential for change is being achieved through technological developments that are creating new business models and – potentially - new ways for authorities to fulfil transport provision.

It is not yet clear what will be the impact of new forms of payment mechanisms, autonomous vehicles, the growing popularity of bike- and car-share schemes or even the rise of distributed ledger or blockchain technology.

What is clear is that societies are rethinking transport provision with massive implications for vertical transport providers, regulators, local and national governments and their many suppliers.

The aim of the MaaS Market conference is to bring together international and local thought-leaders to try and make sense of this rapidly changing landscape.

It is aimed at executives and senior managers in the transportation and ITS industries who want to hear about the latest developments in Mobility as a Service, especially the key strategic, technological and business-critical issues.

The emphasis is on the practical delivery of change – a theme that was reflected at the 2017 event with case study presentations from speakers from Helsinki, Gothenburg, Hong Kong, Denver, Washington, London and Vienna.

Next February’s conference will also focus on the real-life delivery of MaaS projects in Europe and around the world, and the lessons that can be learned from them for others on the same journey.

The growth of interest in MaaS and similar transport as a service concepts has been underlined by the recent publication of a series of reports from both commercial consultants and official bodies.

In its latest report Polis, the network of European cities and regions working to develop innovative technologies and policies for local transport, focuses on the implications for urban and regional transport and warns of the dangers of a ‘purely commercial’ approach to MaaS.

While MaaS has the potential to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits, the report says that unless it is carefully regulated and structured, MaaS could increase inequality where premium levels of service are available to those who pay more.

It also said that MaaS raised questions about the appropriate role of transport authorities and how to find the correct balance between the public and private sectors.

Sampo Hietanen, the CEO of MaaS Global, is a strong supporter of the MaaS Market conferences and is credited with creating the mobility as a service concept 10 years ago while working for Finnish civil engineering giant Destia.

Even then, it was becoming evident that younger generations, in particular, are not wedded to car ownership.

Speaking at the 2017 MaaS Market event, he said: “All they are interested in is getting to where they want to go. So I began to think, what if they bought transport in the same way as they buy their telecoms: on a monthly contract. They will not have to worry about how this is achieved, or if their car needs a service or is due an annual test or even how roads and infrastructure is financed.

“The transportation sector is being hit by a digital tsunami and we have only started to scratch the surface. There will be lots of changes and now is the time for city authorities to decide what kind of transport they want and to regulate to enable that to happen.”

The wider social and economic impact of such changes was emphasised by a paper published earlier this year by 1979 Deloitte University in Texas, USA.

Entitled ‘Mobility as a Service – reshaping how urbanites get around’, it said: “The entire way we travel from point A to point B is changing, creating a new ecosystem of personal mobility. The shift will likely affect far more than automakers—industries from insurance and health care to energy and media should reconsider how they create value in this emerging environment.”

American expansion

With the support of Georgia’s State Road & Tollway Authority and the City of Atlanta, ITS International’s conference team will be staging a MaaS Market Conference in Atlanta on 9 and 10 May 2018. Based in the Loudermilk Conference Center, the two-day event will be US-centric while also presenting experiences and examples of best practice from around the world.

More information will be appearing in forthcoming editions of ITS International and those interested in presenting at or sponsoring the event should contact the conference team listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, GO TO WWW.MAAS-MARKET.COM OR CONTACT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

Delegate information
Kelly Thompson
[email protected]
+44 1322 612055

Content
Colin Sowman
[email protected]
+44 1322 612063

Sponsorship opportunities
Andrew Barriball
[email protected]
+44 1322 612057 (O)
+44 7768 178162 (M)

Dan Emmerson
[email protected]
+44 1322 612068 (O)
+44 7979 911819 (M)

Event information
Graham Anderson
[email protected]
+44 1865 318123 (O)
+44 7711 650691 (M)