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

  • Grab launches e-scooter service in Indonesia
    May 28, 2019
    Grab has joined forces with Sinar Mas Land to launch 50 electric scooters aimed at people travelling short distances in BSD (Bumi Serpong Damai) City in Indonesia. Sinar, a property developer, says the GrabWheels service is expected to be of interest to students and office workers travelling distances of 3-5km. Ongki Kurniawan, Grab Indonesia executive director, says the e-scooters can travel up to 15km per hour and can travel up to 40km when the battery is fully charged. Users can access the service
  • OCTA launches on-demand microtransit service
    November 16, 2018
    The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has launched an on-demand microtransit programme to help better match public transit services with how commuters want to travel. The one-year pilot, called OC Flex, will allow riders to take an eight-person shuttle between two zones – one in Huntington Beach and the northern city of Westminster and the other in three cities: Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. Lisa Bartlett, OCTA chairwoman, says: "We hope that this innovative alternative will h
  • Call for papers and sessions open for ITS America 2019
    November 1, 2018
    ITS America is accepting paper and session proposals for its annual meeting in Washington, DC on 4-7 June 2019. Submissions based on this year’s theme - ‘Intelligent Mobility: Safer, Greener, Smarter’ - should relate to topics on intelligent mobility: moving people, data and freight. Authors of the accepted papers will present findings in a session organised by ITS America’s programme committee which will feature a moderator appointed by the event
  • New York green light to re-signal subways
    October 18, 2019
    New York’s authorities are to solicit proposals for re-signalling the city’s subways. The move comes hot on the heels of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s proposal to invest $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. Rachel Haot, executive director of the Transit Innovation Partnership, a public-private initiative between the MTA and the Partnership for New York City, says: “The MTA deserves credit for stabilising the system over the last year but tr