On the likelihood of using Mobility-as-a-Service: a case study on innovative mobility services among residents in the Netherlands

This research study aims at providing new insights regarding attitudes among residents towards the introduction of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). We were especially interested in finding out how likely residents would be willing to use MaaS when introduced in their place of residence. The study involved a quantitative survey and focus group interviews with residents in the Paleiskwartier district, in the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. Our results show that positive attitudes towards MaaS are the most important factors for the intention to use MaaS, whereas socio-economic characteristics seem not to play a role. Moreover, our results also indicate that most residents are more likely to not use MaaS in the long run, but a considerable amount of them would be interested in trying it out, at least. Equally important, the introduction of MaaS pilots may experience a greater receptivity among residents who do not see car ownership and usage as very important aspects, who regularly use public transport and who are mostly concerned with the environment and with a healthy commuting lifestyle. Conversely, people who use the car on a daily basis and regard car ownership as a very important aspect are far less receptive to MaaS pilots. Therefore, the sole idea of MaaS as an environmentally friendly alternative to make car ownership superfluous may potentially be inefficient against avid car users.