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

  • Here Technologies’ platform helps Motion Auto deliver insurance policies
    December 19, 2018
    Here Technologies’ location platform is being used by Motion Auto to deliver user-based insurance policies to its customers. The platform will provide the insurer with information on speed limits and rules of the road as well as measurements of the road surface condition and variable data such as traffic conditions. Daniel Weisman, co-founder of Motion Auto, says Here will help the company understand the behaviour of customers and their relationships to routes, road conditions and traffic. Here’s ma
  • InDriver’s ride-hailing app allows NYC users to negotiate fares
    December 12, 2018
    InDriver has launched its ride-hailing app in New York City (NYC) which allows the driver and passenger to negotiate lower fares. The app allows users to set a fare for a selected route. Nearby drivers receive the destination and fare and can either accept or bargain for more money. The passenger receives multiple offers from drivers, allowing them to make a choice based on fare amount, driver ratings, estimated time of arrival and vehicle make/model. The service is available to communities in Brooklyn,
  • Helsinki’s residents trial MaaS as alternative to private cars
    August 21, 2018
    Would you give up your own car? Helsinki implemented MaaS late last year and Colin Sowman discovers that the initial reaction has been positive What would it take for you to give up your own car? That is the question posed by Sampo Hietanen, the so-called ‘father’ of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and CEO of MaaS Global. And he is about to discover if MaaS really will convince the people of Helsinki to do the unthinkable. MaaS Global introduced a fledgling version of its Whim app in the city in late 2016
  • Unmanned to trial autonomous delivery bots in Seoul
    September 25, 2019
    Technology start-up Unmanned Solutions is to deploy autonomous delivery robots in Sangam Digital Media City (DMC), an autonomous driving test bed South Korea’s capital Seoul. The Korean Times says the four-wheeled electric vehicles will operate in the city for a year, carrying 200kg of goods on a flat tray. Jung Young-Jae, a city official in charge of the start-up incubation project at Seoul Institute of Technology, says: “The robots will start with shipping supplies from freight trucks near the mai