MaaS can work – but must be consistent with ‘decarbonised future’, says UK expert

Innovations such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS) will help to make transport more free-flowing for individuals – but that must not be done at the cost of society or the environment. That was the message from Paul Campion, CEO of the UK Transport Systems Catapult, speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum’s seminar on intelligent mobility this week. He told delegates at the London conference that innovations in the 20th century had put travel within reach of most people, and tha
January 23, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Innovations such as Mobility as a Service (8356 MaaS) will help to make transport more free-flowing for individuals – but that must not be done at the cost of society or the environment.


That was the message from Paul Campion, CEO of the UK 7800 Transport Systems Catapult, speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum’s seminar on intelligent mobility this week.

He told delegates at the London conference that innovations in the 20th century had put travel within reach of most people, and that the 21st century will see even greater convenience becoming commonplace.

“The next few decades will see the democratisation of seamless travel,” he went on. “I want the complexity to go away – but it must be consistent with a democratic, decarbonised future.”

The new mobility options on the table – such as ride-sharing and connected vehicles – have the potential to make life better for everyone. But he warned that there was also a risk that some of their impact could be negative.

“We have to think very hard about what we want. We have to find ways to ‘sell’ the things that lead to utopia and try to resist the things that lead to dystopia,” he said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mobility pricing offers new tools for managing mobility
    November 23, 2017
    Mobility pricing is the best way of sustaining and enhancing mobility, argues Moving Forward Consulting’s Josef Czako. Mobility pricing (MP) is effectively the culmination of the ‘user pays’ principle and has been referred to in many policy discussions about electronic toll collection, road user charging (RUC), and pricing. MP not only reflects the ‘use more, pay more’ nature of RUC, it also takes account of the external cost of journeys including pollution, noise, the cost of congestion and accidents.
    Read More
  • ITS innovations – a change for the better?
    May 5, 2016
    Josef Czako takes a look at what the future developments may hold for both the transport sector and society. As the dust of the 2015 World Congress in Bordeaux settles, we can begin to see more clearly some of the most important future innovations in ITS are starting to be linked together: mobility as a service (MaaS), mobility pricing and autonomous vehicles. They all are based on global trends, like digitalisation, automation and servitisation.
    Read More
  • US road infrastructure ‘needs more technology’, says leading Republican
    February 8, 2019
    “America will never have the infrastructure system it needs and deserves if we don’t do a better job of incorporating technology,” said leading Republican Sam Graves. He leads the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the US House of Representatives and made the comments this week at a hearing entitled ‘The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait’. Ranking member Graves said: “Compared to other countries, our infrastructure is falling behind, and in so
    Read More
  • Arup’s vision of urban mobility in 2050
    May 6, 2015
    Arup’s vision of the Future of Highways considers a wide range of factors that will impact on mobility towards the middle of the century. In its consideration of the Future of Highways through to 2050, international consultants Arup has taken a broad and pragmatic view of where society is heading and the effects that will have on the transport requirements. In terms of major drivers it not only cites
    Read More

Highlighted Content