The transport sector has been unable to cut emissions for more than three decades. In fact, transportation accounts for 23% of global greenhouse emissions, while cities generate 70% of the world’s CO2 emissions. There is no doubt, the industry is having a major impact on climate change globally.

Travel choices are generally made under routine events, including motives, attitudes, norms, and habits. Under those circumstances, people frequently opt for their car as their main transport mode, often underestimating how much they will use it.

Adding to the adverse effects on the environment, vehicles fuelled by diesel or petrol are also associated with health issues, such as an increase in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, traffic injuries, and stress due to high levels of noise and traffic congestion within cities.

Consequently, there is an urgent need to shift from car ownership to more sustainable means of transportation such as ridesharing, electromobility, micro-mobility, public transit, and walking and cycling.

MaaS concepts have emerged to offer individualized one-stop access to several bundled travel services based on customers’ needs to tackle urban mobility challenges. However, since MaaS is in its early days, there is still room for improvement and development.

There are four levels of MaaS functionality. Each level represents an increase in sophistication as companies expand their technological capabilities. But while each level is attractive to end-users, MaaS providers struggle to achieve the right economic model. Each functionality level calls for a different business model, which has its limitations and hurdles. It’s only at level four where the full potential of MaaS will be realized and become truly economically viable.