The Dutch Mobility Transition: An Assessment of Governance Factors Contributing to Successful Implementation of MaaS in The Netherlands “A qualitative research analyzing governance factors regarding the seven MaaS pilots, gaining insights for national implementation”

Abstract

Mobility as a Service (MaaS): for the traveler, a mobility solution that efficiently combines different modalities on a platform that handles planning, booking, billing, and paying whilst considering personal preferences of the traveler. The concept of MaaS however, entails much more than a nice-looking app on a smartphone. It is a complex system consisting out of a myriad of interactions between many different stakeholders. MaaS can constitute a solution to many challenges such as congestion, enhancing sustainable mobility, lack of space in cities, clean air, and access to mobility solutions. It can be an alternative to a private car offering similar value. This research focuses on the concept of MaaS and implementation thereof in the Netherlands by analyzing seven MaaS pilots initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W). This study argues that the best governance model for MaaS is that of a (transaction) business ecosystem. As the focus is on the Dutch context, and many of the important areas of the MaaS ecosystem are the responsibility of public governance, the Dutch government (local, regional, or national) is rightly positioned to create the conditions for MaaS to thrive. To gain insight into which factors of governance contribute to the pilots’ success, with the objective to scale the pilots to the national level, the following research question is posed: “How do governance factors determine the success of the MaaS pilots’ implementation in the Dutch mobility system?” To give meaningful insight regarding this research question, qualitative research is conducted. Semi-structured interviews were held with 81% of the identified pilot stakeholders. The interviews were transcribed and structurally analyzed by performing in vivo coding. Corona delayed the start-up of the pilots and changed mobility behavior of travelers tremendously. The ecosystem paradigm emphasizes the importance of aligning and synchronizing the objectives of stakeholders participating in the pilots. The balancing of innovation and development of the ecosystem with standard-setting and applying rules is crucial for the MaaS ecosystem. It requires governance applied in a way considering these developments. Traditional approaches such as blueprints and linear development are no longer applicable in such a dynamic environment. This study recommends the appointment of an ecosystem manager which will mitigate many of the barriers identified and will increase the probability for the MaaS ecosystem to thrive.