Challenge, Coordination, and Collaboration for Effective Rural Mobility Solutions

In this chapter, the author argues that mobility as a service (or MaaS) as a principal means of accessing transport may make it difficult to meet existing policy aims for sustainable mobility that addresses the climate change crisis and demographic trends. Strong governance will be needed to design MaaS for these challenges whilst addressing existing and future social injustices. Furthermore, without determined coordination, an inherent individualism at the heart of many current formulations of MaaS privileges urban areas with existing multimodal options and risks further excluding rural environments. Drawing on examples from Europe and beyond, concerns regarding the ability to assess unanticipated undesirable impacts of transport innovations that are MaaS-like in character are highlighted and discussed. How might authorities collaborate with each other and MaaS brokers to provide low carbon accessibility in rural areas?