Cubic Corporation has announced that Cubic Transportation Systems President Matt Cole authored a new white paper presenting the need for public transit being at the forefront of conversations about Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
Current discussions around MaaS, dominated by commercial mobility service providers, propagates a vision of future mobility that does not adequately address the many issues faced by cities today, such as congestion, density, safety, security, social inclusion and a need for integrated regulation, coordination and policy. For MaaS to be effective in addressing those challenges, public transit agencies must start playing a central role in shaping the direction of MaaS solutions, driving the implementation effort and acting as coordinators of future MaaS endeavors.
The white paper, entitled, “MaaS: Putting Transit Front and Center of the Conversation,” was launched at the American Public Transportation Association Legislative Conference taking place between March 18-20, in Washington, D.C. The white paper will be presented to the Mobility Management Committee by Cole.
“Today, the definition of MaaS remains ambiguous. The early adopters of MaaS were almost exclusively private mobility providers and so the industry has come to consider MaaS a private sector initiative,” said Cole. “With public transit at its heart, MaaS can bring many benefits to cities, communities and transit agencies. We hope this white paper will help our customers, partners, and the transit industry at large, revisit their assumptions about MaaS and encourage an open discussion about public transit as the backbone of MaaS.”