Skip to main content

MaaS Global and Mitsui to trial Whim in Japan

MaaS Global is trialling its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform Whim in Japan in a tie-up with property developer Mitsui Fudosan. The Finnish company says both parties will collaborate with local transport service providers and conduct a ‘proof of concept’ trial in the Greater Tokyo area, prior to a planned launch later this year. The partnership allows MaaS Global to employ what CEO Sampo Hietanen calls “our Real Estate x MaaS vision: the next evolution phase to combine living and mobility”. Mitsu
May 8, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
8571 MaaS Global is trialling its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform 8727 Whim in Japan in a tie-up with property developer Mitsui Fudosan.


The Finnish company says both parties will collaborate with local transport service providers and conduct a ‘proof of concept’ trial in the Greater Tokyo area, prior to a planned launch later this year.

The partnership allows MaaS Global to employ what CEO Sampo Hietanen calls “our Real Estate x MaaS vision: the next evolution phase to combine living and mobility”.

Mitsui Fudosan wants to incorporate MaaS into its building projects, “enhancing comfortable living for those who live and work in its communities”.

In a statement, the Japanese firm says: “The company will endeavour to enhance collaborative relationships between its wide-ranging business areas for urban development, such as office, retail, residential, hotel and logistics, and MaaS Global’s expertise in the MaaS business.”

Last October, MaaS Global %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external deployed false http://www.itsinternational.com/sections/general/news/comfortdelgro-to-deploy-maas-global-app-in-singapore/ false false%> its Whim app in Singapore, allowing users to have access to Comfortdelgro’s fleet of taxis.

The company plans more launches in cities across Europe, the US and Asia in 2019.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Trafi and BVG launch all-in-one mobility app in Berlin
    February 21, 2019
    Technology firm Trafi has partnered with public transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) to launch a mobility app which it says integrates all modes of transport in Berlin, Germany. Trafi claims that the Jelbi app will allow users to access the city’s entire public transportation system including scooters, bikes, ride-hailing and car-sharing as well as taxis. The idea is that users can plan and book journeys without needing to sign up to additional companies or jump between different apps.
  • Didi Chuxing issues public apology for death of female passenger
    September 3, 2018
    Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing has blamed its own ‘vanity’ for lapses in safety which led to the rape and killing of a 20-year-old female passenger. The firm issued a public apology for the incident which took place on 28 August and says it will now prioritise safety over growth. In an emailed statement, Didi founder Cheng Wei and president Jean Liu say: "We see clearly this is because our vanity overtook our original belief. We raced non-stop, riding on the force of breathless expansion and
  • Nokia’s roadside cloud adds flexibility
    March 22, 2018
    Networking communications equipment vendor Nokia is looking to edge computing to solve road operators’ problems, bringing legacy networks together under its ‘roadside cloud’ concept. “We don’t want road operators to get rid of their existing infrastructure,” explains Matthias Jablonowski, global practice lead – road at Nokia. But it believes connecting roadside infrastructure with a central management system via its roadside cloud – based on the multi-access edge computing (MEC) standard – will allow
  • Beat to bring ride-hailing service to Mexico City
    November 19, 2018
    Beat, a Daimler ride-hailing firm, is opening offices in Mexico City during the first quarter of 2019 and expects to recruit thousands of drivers. Beat says the move is part of a strategy to expand its presence in Latin America. The service and user app are currently available in Lima (Peru), Santiago (Chile), and Bogota (Colombia). Nikos Drandakis, founder and CEO of Beat, says the company initially deployed it service in Mexico City five years ago but did not have the resources at the time to succe