Business Aspects - Barriers
Literature studies and interviews with stakeholders that potentially may be a part of the MaaS value network have identified several barriers.
Willingness to be a part of MaaS
It is crucial that the Transport Service Providers are willing to be a part of MaaS. The Transport Service Providers are concerned about losing control, and they may mistrust the intention of the MaaS Provider. A Transport Service Provider may become less visible and will not have the same opportunities for branding as in a standalone service. It might also be considered as threat that more than one transport service of one type may be offered via MaaS. Transport Service Providers fear for the same consequences as hotels have experienced with the emergence of powerful hotel portals. They suspect the use of unfair algorithms when offers to the end user are made (e.g., that certain transport operators get a priority), and they fear misuse of data and loss of data about the Travellers’ preferences and demands. In the worst case, MaaS Providers may use data to establish their own transport services and start competing with existing transport services.
Agreements
Contractual issues are a challenge due to the diversity of transport services and Transport Service Providers, and due to the mutual dependencies between the transport services constituting a transport chain. The responsibilities in case of deviations and complaints must be clear. It is also important that the contracts focus on the policy to be followed and the goals to be achieved. It may for example be better to address a reduction of emissions rather than the numbers of journeys to be delivered.
Diversity
The diversity of the transport services offered via MaaS affects the business models. Car rental/car sharing services have for example special needs due to the value of the cars and the nature of the service. Travellers must commit themselves to take economic responsibilities. Additional services like parking, charging/fuelling, extension of hire period, price calculators, etc. may require a deep integration into the MaaS service. The business models of the transport operators may be business-to-customers (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G) and peer-to-peer (P2P). The MaaS service itself may also be B2C, B2B and B2G.
Price models
Price models affect the behaviour of the Travellers, and the price models must be adapted to the overall goals as well as to the available transport services. Long commitment periods for one transport service may work as a lock-in and prohibit the use of other modes, and mobility packages with a fixed quantity of certain modes may not be fully utilised. Travellers should get what they pay for, and they should not have to pay for services that they do not use. Flexible price models may encourage the use of more modes, and the Travellers may find their preferred way of travelling and change their behaviour, e.g., towards more use of active modes and reduce their car ownership.