Power to the passenger: UITP coordinates new research project IP4MaaS

When talking about fighting private car-ownership, no doubt the topic of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) will come up.

With our cities and lives evolving, so do our mobility patterns and behaviours. Like many other services, people expect mobility services to be based on their needs, integrating a wide range of options to ensure a hassle-free journey (and life!). This is where MaaS comes in.

UITP very much recognises the essential role MaaS can play in ensuring a mobility system that is sustainable and inclusive. Therefore, we are proud to announce the launch of the new EU-project IP4MaaS.

Coordinated by UITP, IP4MaaS seeks to advance the uptake of MaaS schemes by analysing and testing available MaaS technologies developed under the Innovation Programme 4 (IP4) of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, such as a ticket booking system or a journey planner. Shift2Rail is an initiative aiming to develop one application for the European market that combines all modes and enables passengers to buy one ticket for their entire journey, even when using different transport modes.

IP4MaaS will work closely together with other Shift2Rail initiatives, such as COHESIVE, CONNECTIVE and MaaSive, as it will test the technologies developed in these projects.

IP4MaaS can be considered as the successor of another Shift2Rail project, Shift2MaaS. This project is also coordinated by UITP and was launched early 2019 to support the uptake and integration of IP4 technologies within a MaaS context. Coming to a completion soon, Shift2MaaS is passing on the baton to IP4MaaS.

IP4MaaS’ concepts and solutions will be tested in six different demonstration sites in Barcelona, Athens, Warsaw, Osijek, Liberec, and Padua. The project counts 26 partners from all across Europe and will run until May 2023.

View our official press release

For more information on IP4MaaS, you can contact the coordinator of the project, Giuseppe Rizzi.

One of the key elements of a seamless Mobility as a Service scheme is Ticketing: the delivery of MaaS requires the integration of ticketing and payment systems across models and providers. Technological advancements have helped ticketing systems evolve dramatically over recent decades. However, this have gotten a little complicated for public transport operators and authorities. Therefore, UITP has now published a new report ‘Demystifying ticketing and payment in public transport, aiming to clarify the landscape of ticketing and looking ahead to emerging trends. Read the report here!