Jana L. Sochor

Implementing mobility as a service: challenges in integrating user, commercial, and societal perspectives

This paper presents insights from a six-month field operational test (FOT) in Gothenburg, Sweden, during which 195 participants tested the UbiGo mobility service for everyday travel. The service integrated both public and private solutions into a new type of collective transport and thereby contributed to Swedish societal goals of a reduction of private car use and ownership. A triangulation approach to data sources and collection methods was adopted to identify matches and mismatches between the expectations and experiences of three stakeholder groups: users (FOT participants–customers), commercial actors (mobility broker and service providers), and society. Identified matches included the concept of a transportation smorgasbord, reduced private car ownership, and increased pretrip planning. Identified mismatches related to the greater than expected reduction in car use, the respective business models of the mobility broker and service providers, back-office administration, and the smartphone platform. Gaps included the infeasibility of some trips and the need for more carsharing sites. The FOT was successful, with 93% of participants satisfied with their travel and 97% wanting to continue using UbiGo. However, before a commercially viable mobility service can be created, the mismatches and gaps need to be resolved or at least deliberated. The conclusion is that to create integrated solutions, truly collective transport must involve close cooperation between public and private actors and the consideration of at least the three, sometimes conflicting, stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, new business models are needed to address the challenges associated with future integrated urban mobility solutions.

Trying Out Mobility as a Service: Experiences from a Field Trial and Implications for Understanding Demand

The concept of mobility as a service (MaaS) has been proposed as a feasible way to achieve more sustainable transport. One example of such a service is UbiGo, a broker service for everyday urban travel developed and evaluated within the Go:Smart project in Gothenburg, Sweden. This paper presents evidence of travel behavior and related changes from a 6-month field operational test (FOT), during which 195 participants tested the new service. On the basis of the responses to participant questionnaires and interviews and the information recorded in travel diaries, change-enabling service attributes were identified. Such attributes included the transportation smorgasbord concept, simplicity, improved access and flexibility, and economy. Although not a service attribute per se, the FOT also enabled the new behaviors to be evaluated in a trial and a reevaluation of convenience. The broader implications of the findings of the FOT to obtain an understanding of travelers’ new choices and behaviors for the future design of MaaS are discussed. Service design and demand are not independent of each other, and if a mobility service is to change behavior (i.e., achieve an impact) as well as create added value, these goals need to drive design decisions and the deliberate, conscious development of service dimensions, such as customization, bundling, and the range of the offer. On the basis of the experiences gained, the authors emphasize the need for a more holistic and flexible perspective on mobility (and the design perspective on mobility services) that is focused on serving users’ needs and that involves capitalizing on synergies between public and private actors to develop the MaaS offer and better meet the urban mobility challenge ahead.

The Added Value of a New, Innovative Travel Service: Insights from the UbiGo Field Operational Test in Gothenburg, Sweden

The aim of this chapter is to introduce the UbiGo transport broker service developed in Gothenburg, Sweden, and to discuss insights from the six-month field operational test regarding incentives for users adopting new travel services as well as perceived added value. Results are presented from participant questionnaires, interviews, and travel diaries. Findings suggest that potential early users are initially incentivized by curiosity, but that this must be transformed into practical incentives such as convenience and economic advantage if the users are to continue using the service. Customers also found added value in the “transportation smorgasbord” concept, 24-hour customer support, new types of subscriptions and tickets, and having everything in their smartphone, but wished for more personalized decision support and feedback. Concern for the environment functioned more as a bonus than as an incentive, meaning that the environmentally friendly choice must also be the practical choice in order to promote sustainability.

Public–private innovation: barriers in the case of mobility as a service in West Sweden

ABSTRACT Departing from open innovation (OI), this case study explores the development of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in West Sweden. An analysis of 19 interviews reveals how representatives from involved actors perceive internal and external barriers as hampering the regional public transport authority’s attempts to collaborate with private actors, and that the perception of barriers is incongruent across public and private actors. Transferability to other cases of public–private OI is discussed, and implications for public actors are proposed. The paper expands the knowledge of preconditions for MaaS’ development and of the unique conditions for OI in public–private settings.

Creating Appropriate Trust in Automated Vehicle Systems: A Framework for HMI Design

While automated vehicle technology progresses, potentially leading to a safer and more efficient traffic environment, many challenges remain within the area of human factors, such as user trust for automated driving (AD) vehicle systems. The aim of this paper is to investigate how an appropriate level of user trust for AD vehicle systems can be created via human–machine interaction (HMI). A guiding framework for implementing trust-related factors into the HMI interface is presented. This trust-based framework incorporates usage phases, AD events, trust-affecting factors, and levels explaining each event from a trust perspective. Based on the research findings, the authors recommend that HMI designers and automated vehicle manufacturers take a more holistic perspective on trust rather than focusing on single, “isolated” events, for example understanding that trust formation is a dynamic process that starts long before a users first contact with the system, and continues long thereafter. Furthermore, factors-affecting trust change, both during user interactions with the system and over time; thus, HMI concepts need to be able to adapt. Future work should be dedicated to understanding how trust-related factors interact, as well as validating and testing the trust-based framework.

Governing Mobility-as-a-Service: Insights from Sweden and Finland

Based on a review of recent developments in Sweden and Finland, this chapter analyzes the roles of public organizations in the governance of a transition to Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). In particular, we draw on insights from transition frameworks to explore what these two pioneering cases can teach us about how the public sector can both enable the development of MaaS and steer the development trajectory toward diffusion of MaaS offerings that contribute to transport policy goals. We propose three main points. Firstly, public sector organizations at national, regional, and local levels have key roles to play in potential transitions to MaaS, regardless of their intended operative roles in the emerging MaaS ecosystem. Secondly, a central task for public sector organizations is to align operational and tactical MaaS governance activities with both an overarching MaaS strategy and with other relevant strategies, such as transport infrastructures investments, programs for economic and industrial growth, city plans, and parking norms. Thirdly, new models and tools for public–private collaboration are needed in order to effectively govern the development and diffusion of sustainable MaaS.

Enhancing Mobility and Perceived Safety via ICT: The Case of a Navigation System for Visually Impaired Persons

This study empirically investigates the case of visually impaired persons and the possible effects of a tailored pedestrian navigation system on their mobility. Interview results with Swedish respondents indicate that with information provision about the built environment and public transportation, positive potential effects include: a greater degree of perceived safety; an increased ability to travel alone and in unplanned or unfamiliar situations; and prioritizing public transportation over special transportation services. As such, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) may serve an integrity-enhancing function by improving the possibility of leading an independent and autonomous life. While generally optimistic about the possibilities mobility-enhancing ICT presents, the respondents also emphasize that ICT, even when universally accessible, is not the final missing piece of the mobility puzzle. As such, this study serves to remind us that a coordinated effort on multiple fronts is vital in addressing users’ needs and meeting broader social goals such as social inclusion and the accessibility of transportation, technology, and information.

To See or Not to See: The Effect of Object Recognition on Users' Trust in "Automated Vehicles"

While automated vehicle technology progresses, potentially leading to a safer, more efficient traffic environment, many challenges remain within the area of human factors, such as user trust in Automated Driving (AD) vehicle systems. The authors previously focused on creating a guiding framework for implementing trust-related factors into the Human-Machine-Interaction (HMI) interface in automated vehicles. This paper presents the result of a first attempt to use the framework in the design process. Three concepts with different levels of system transparency were created to provide Object Recognition (OR) feedback, and subsequently user-tested in a level 3 (NHTSA) Wizard of Oz vehicle. Results indicate that presenting feedback through OR can increase the level of trust in the system, and that users prefer moderation -- neither too much nor too little feedback. The paper also demonstrates the frameworks usefulness in guiding HMI designers in the trust-based development process with the help of a well-defined design-space.