Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth was the setting for an insightful and action-packed event yesterday with the arrival of the second annual Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Scotland Conference.

Representatives from across the UK and Europe – including MaaS Catalonia and experts from the Netherlands and Austria – congregated in Edinburgh to discuss and explore the groundbreaking and innovative work underway in MaaS projects worldwide.

User-centric design, inclusivity and accessibility in customer service, user-engagement and the future of MaaS were all issues featured throughout the day. Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from the event.

A World In Motion

We live in interesting times, an era in which technology is revolutionising and radically altering our lives. Our methods of communication, socialising, working; are all being changed by rapid technological advances.

In an ever-changing, fast-paced and digital world, ensuring mobility and accessibility has never been so critical. Scotland’s cities are becoming increasingly digitised, their services streamlined and as more people flock to urban centres questions must be raised over how we can accommodate – and crucially, innovate – to ensure accessibility and mobility.

Innovators of Technology

The (now former) Transport Minister Humza Yousaf could not attend yesterday’s event, however provided delegates with a video message that perfectly encapsulated the tone of the day, telling attendees that he wanted to see “Scotland be ahead of the curve instead of lagging behind” and that the nation should aspire to be innovators of technology, rather than consumers.

A Changing Population

As technology changes, so do we – a point that Beate Kubitz of Travel Spirit Foundation was keen to point out.

As the keynote presentation, Kubitz laid the foundations for a captivating day-long affair. Having recently finalised work on the 2018 MaaS Scotland Survey, she provided the packed plenary suite with a teaser of things to come; highlighting a new generation of tech-engaged citizens utilising web applications to enhance their experience.

According to Kubitz, customer expectations are changing and as new modes of mobility emerge – such as autonomous vehicles, or car-sharing – the public increasingly turn to these methods and abandon the status-quo.

Car sales are down among younger generations, signalling a confidence in public transport and alternative means of travel. 

With such a broad variety of needs among Scotland’s population, catering to individuals has never been more important. Travel needs vary based on location, on age, working patterns and physical mobility and so to meet such a broad range of requirements, organisations and government must collaborate and innovate to provide customer solutions – all of this will require increased engagement.

Speaking to DIGIT, Kubitz highlighted the emphasis on user-focused design throughout the day-long event. She said: “MaaS Scotland brought a great range of speakers. It was fantastic to see the emphasis on designing MaaS focused on individual needs – and gathering evidence of how those services worked and the impact they have on travel patterns.”

She added: “It’s clear MaaS Scotland is focused on building use cases – and business cases – that will encourage broader participation in future MaaS provision.”

Engaging With Users

A common theme throughout the day was the public value of MaaS and its revolutionary potential, however, to cater to individual needs, organisations must engage with the public and work to meet changing trends.

David Smith, Programme Manager at Viaqqio, suggested that by talking to people about the features they value in applications, you can streamline design and ensure services are fine-tuned to meet a myriad of needs and requirements.

NaviGoGo recently finished a trial review of its pilot scheme and the data provided in Smith’s presentation was nothing short of fascinating. Nearly half of participants surveyed said that NaviGoGo allowed them to travel more confidently and that they travelled with greater ease.

Public transport and shared modes also fared strongly throughout the pilot, suggesting a clear confidence in the use of alternative means of transport and public services.

Over 100 people took part in the pilot scheme, with the majority of those from Dundee. Providing delegates with insights, Smith said that over 2,000 journeys had been planned using the NaviGoGo app, with 58% of people using this service for single-person taxi journeys and 18% of respondents utilising rail travel.

With a clear confidence in MaaS, the task now falls to ensuring the optimisation and collaboration of services. Respondents to the NaviGoGo pilot highlighted a lack of integrated services, and during the Q&A session, Smith noted that there were challenges in bringing transport service providers (TSPs) into the fold.

Accessing pricing data was an area of particular difficulty, and so collaboration with TSPs and local authorities will prove a critical factor in the success of future endeavours.

The need for integrated services was also a key theme throughout Fluidtime CEO Michael Kieslinger’s presentation. Kieslinger said that multiple apps and services offered by transport service providers are counter-intuitive, often confusing and a hassle for commuters.

By developing one centralised and integrated platform, Kieslinger said, seamless services can greatly enable mobility.

Mobility and Accessibility

During his presentation, Gavin Neate, CEO of Neatebox said: “People who are disabled don’t necessarily know what they need if they don’t know there’s a solution available”.

Providing these solutions is precisely what Neatebox specialises in. He told delegates how Neatebox is using technology to help people with disabilities access greater mobility. With over 13 million disabled people living in the UK, the need for effective mobility solutions is critical.

Discussing the company’s Welcome app, Neate told delegates that by using mobile phone data, geofencing and iBeacons, delivering equality, accessibility and better customer service is an achievable goal.

The Welcome app addresses one of the main issues affecting people with disabilities; finding adequate and catered customer service. This free to download app allows users to pre-plan and request visits to venues, highlighting a person’s specific area of needs and alerting staff to their requirements.

Neate’s aim is to help facilitate greater communication between customers and customer service staff that will help cultivate both better experiences and a more open, disability-friendly society.

Scotland Inspiring

During the third session of the day, delegates heard from MaaS Catalonia representatives, Daniel Serra and Marti Jofre, who showcased some of the work underway in the region. What became evident from the onset is Scotland’s global reputation, with MaaS Catalonia having taken a great deal of inspiration from MaaS Scotland – the country is fast becoming a shining beacon of mobility innovation.

Scotland can still learn lessons from abroad, however. Discussing ongoing MaaS projects in Zuidas – the Amsterdam business district – Lieke Arts highlighted the growing need for increased mobility modes and why encouraging the public to use these services is important.

Extensive construction work in the area, Arts said, had been causing congestion issues and so by encouraging people to people to leave their cars and take alternative modes of transport the issue could be tackled.

Offering cash incentives for alternative transport usage had proved effective during the process, Arts claimed. However, on one rather hilarious occasion, a participant in the scheme used their excess savings to hire a supercar.

MaaS Scotland once again showcased Scotland’s vibrant, innovative nature. A nation that is developing a groundbreaking tech eco-system at home whilst offering the world an increasing level of expertise and innovation.