The PriMaaS project staff exchange programme has been constrained by the effect of pandemics. However, following the easing of restrictions, partners are taking the first steps towards closer cooperation between regions.
TTS Italia was the first partner to host a staff exchange in the past day. Following the Edinburgh interregional event, Sofia Suarez from the University of Aveiro participated in a three-day meeting of exchange of experience in TTS Italia headquarters.
Under a MaaS scheme, users typically choose to pay per trip or subscribe to bundles of mobility services. How to design these bundles (mobility packages) is central to their potential of inducing behavioural change and profitable business.
Fruit of the experience of TTS in previous projects, the plan of activities for this training period is to study and evaluate the existing literature and common practices for the design of mobility packages tailored to the specific socio-economic context of each region.
This exchange of experience event is aligned with the PriMaaS main vision of promoting MaaS but ensuring it leads to a behaviour change towards sustainability. Partners will cooperate to improve the implementation of action plans in PriMaaS regions by having a better knowledge of:
a) What do users value most of MaaS product bundles (e.g., specific modes and services, incentives, added-value information) that would support decision-makers achieve sustainable mobility goals and help business tailor their product and service offering?
b) Regional-specific impacts on travel behaviour
c) Regional differences in design outcomes between products and potential impacts to lowering mobility footprint
The conclusions will be shared with the remaining partners and, in turn, with their regional stakeholders to validate their feasibility in the local context.
This knowledge will be vital to improving the effectiveness and territorial impact of the regional action plans. For example, it will support better integration of flexible mobility services into a future wider regional MaaS package in Portugal. Learning to design efficient MaaS plans will also support determining how the ecosystem of mobility services between rural and urban areas of Tampere and Thuringia and the DRT South pilot Est Scotland may be optimized to lead to more sustainable use of services and infrastructures. The advisory Partner (University of Stockholm) will support PriMaaS partners in the methodological design to consulting local stakeholders and in analysing impact data generated from this study.
Source: TTS Italia/PriMaaS project