The Impacts of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) on a Diverse Society: A Framework for Advanced Assessment

Abstract

With the latest developments in transportation technologies and services, the concept of MaaS has spawned its way, where consumers can purchase access to different modes and services owned and operated by several mobility service providers through a single integrated digital platform. Nonetheless, the MaaS ecosystem and benefits have not been fully understood yet, which varies case by case depending on the communities' behavioral responses. Qatar is known as one of the countries with a highly diverse population where many expatriate workers come from different cultures. This necessitates a comprehensive mobility arrangement given their various travel needs and diaries. To contribute to a comprehensive analysis of MaaS impact while taking into consideration societies' diversities, this paper aims to develop a framework to assist in evaluating and assessing MaaS design alternatives and their impact on different population segments. This study was conducted by utilizing existing literature findings about MaaS assessment supported by a stated preference (SP) survey from a Qatar case study. We found that there are a limited number of key performance indicators (KPIs) to comprehensively evaluate MaaS social impacts and mobility network efficiency. Therefore, as part of the assessment framework, additional KPIs were introduced for comprehensively evaluating MaaS's direct impact on transport networks and broader implications for social equity, economy, and human well-being. MaaS KPIs should consider reporting by age, monthly income, and ethnic socio-demographic factors. This can serve as a useful guide for diverse communities, particularly in Qatar. Furthermore, outputs from the assessment framework can be used as inputs to evaluate impacts on the MaaS provider's profit-making and business prospects.