Users of one of the world’s first Mobility as a Service (MaaS) apps in Helsinki, Finland now make almost three quarters of their trips with public transportation compared to less than 50% for the average citizen, new research shows.
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An impact study of MaaS Global’s ‘Whim’ app – which had its first full year of commercial operation in Helsinki in 2018 – indicates that customers in the city use a wide range of transportation services and are shifting to sustainable mobility patterns.
Consultant Ramboll analysed annual data from more than 70,000 registered users of Whim, which last spring was also launched for trials in Birmingham. “Whim users seem to be more open to combining different mobility options and to try out new mobility services such as city bikes,” said the consultant’s smart mobility division director Jukka-Pekka Pitkänen.
The report adds that customers are using both bicycles and taxis to solve the first mile / last mile challenge, and combine taxis three times more often with public transportation on average than other Helsinki travellers.
“Should this behaviour become an even more common trend, it will help cities to solve their congestion problems, make urban areas more pedestrian friendly and help cities to meet their sustainability goals,” said Jukka-Pekka.
The app provides incentive for people to ditch their private cars by providing a single access point to multiple transport options including public transport, car hire, taxis and cycle hire. Users subscribe on a periodic basis to receive access to these services for a fixed fee, or can make pay as you go purchases for single journeys.
MaaS Global’s head of ecosystem and sustainability Krista Huhtala-Jenks said: “It is hard to do anything significant for the environment before people are willing to give up their cars. The study was required to prove the impact MaaS has on solving issues related to traffic and CO2 emissions.
She added: “No one service provider can solve the transportation and traffic problems of the future alone, so open data and collaboration among all transportation service providers is required to serve the end user needs best.”
Mobility as a Service will be a feature of Transportation Professional’s future mobility special in May.
(Photo: MaaS Global)
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