TMD stands for Transport Mode Detection recognizing both motorized and non-motorized modalities based on accelerometer data from mobile phone. This will significantly improve MaaS services with more accurate modality recognition and better user experience.
Urbanization and digitalization are today’s megatrends which are influencing every person’s life on global level. These will influence also the way we move in the future. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is offering a credible scenario to explain how people will change their behaviour and how this change will happen.
We are already seeing new service providers like ride sharing or car/bike sharing companies challenging traditional transportation service providers like taxis and car rental companies. Availability, attractive pricing and easiness to use have made people to change their ways to move. People are also more aware on environmental impacts of their choices. In big cities it might not even be sensible to own your own car, because of limited parking.
New business models will emerge
MaaS will definitely disrupt the business models in transportation industry. Technology will enable consumers to choose different modality chains based on their preferences on convenience and cost.
One driving force for MaaS will be decreasing number of car owners, especially in western countries. For example in Germany, among people 18-29 years old, number of cars per 1000 people has dropped from 420 to 240 in 10 years (2000-2010)1.
Next generation is much more ready to live their lives without owning a car and adopt new mobility services quickly. Car manufacturers are currently investing in companies developing new mobility services. For example Daimler recently acquired car2go and Moovel 2.
Regulators will have a big role to play how transportation industry will change in the future. For example in some countries ride-sharing services are still illegal. In the future policy makers should make it easier and more attractive for new service providers to enter mobility services market. Task is not easy – trade-offs are needed to find the optimal solution.
We are still at early stage of adopting MaaS, but one thing is clear. MaaS means more choices how to organize daily transportation. And increasing competition between transport service providers will also make sure that cost of transport is likely to decrease and reacting to the commuting needs. If you need guaranteed transportation certain time to certain place every day, you are probably paying more than person who can be more flexible with times. Services will adapt the pricing according to demand and supply.
Enhancing service platforms for MaaS
New digital platforms will be in key role in developing MaaS services. Most visible tool will be a mobile application which will act as the main interaction tool between MaaS operator and their customers, the commuters.
Motion sensors in mobile phone will also generate lot of motion related data and tell a lot how people really use different modes of transport. Phone can recognize used modality (motorized and non motorized) at each moment of time. This is called Transport Mode Detection (TMD) which is one of the core technologies which can help MaaS operators to further develop the user experience and generate valuable information about their customers.
Combining the used modaility and location data MaaS application can give more accurate view on available travel options for following part of the journey and also smoothens the transition from one modality to another.
For example TMD enables the creation of individual driving profile based on driving behaviour and this could be the basis for pricing of a rental car. Motion data could also be utilized in the condition monitoring of rental vehicles for maintenance purposes.
Analytics will be important part of MaaS platforms. Availability of motion data and combining it with other available sources of mobility information will improve the knowledge how people are really moving and how transport infrastructure could be improved to make commuting smoother and more efficient.