On 16 March, MaaS Alliance General Assembly elected FIA Region I Director General, Jacob Bangsgaard, to be its President at the first meeting in Brussels. The Board of Directors also includes: the Finnish Minister of Transport Anne Brenner with representatives from Ertico and the IRU.

In addition to the confirmation of the Board of Directors, the meeting initiated the plan for the strategic development of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Europe. The key concept behind MaaS is putting the user, both travellers and goods, at the core of transport services, offering them tailor made mobility solutions based on their individual needs. This means that, for the first time, easy access to the most appropriate transport mode or service will be included in a bundle of flexible travel service options for end users.

The Alliance will engage with all aspects in the development of MaaS, such as, creating a level playing field for service providers; gaining access to transport data; and protecting user data. The Alliance believes that users should be able to share data with different service providers and transfer personal data to new service providers as desired. Roaming subscriptions should be available for international use of MaaS with valid payments procedures in place as well.

Several Clubs in FIA Region I are already actively involved in MaaS activities and could benefit from the Alliance’s support in enabling new mobility services that will be implemented as part of its work. Spain’s RACC also joined the meeting.

In addition to the practical implementation activities, the next steps will be to take contact with European Commission to inform them on the Alliance’s activities. The goal will be to get the Commission’s support and endorsement, as MaaS has been identified as a tool to promote new mobility services and alleviate transport glitches in Europe.