MaaS for the masses: Potential transit accessibility gains and required policies under Mobility-as-a-Service

Kurzfassung

Transit accessibility is one of the key indicators to assess the performance of transport systems, whereby higher scores indicate a better performance in terms of social equity (e.g., more equal access to jobs and other opportunities). To inform policymakers and support decision-making, it is crucial to measure potential accessibility changes for proposed transport investments. Due to the paucity of available data, however, calculating and monitoring accessibility is a difficult task. This holds particularly for the Global South, where informal or semi-formal transport services (paratransit) are often the most dominant transport mode. Anchored in SDG 11 for more ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’, the UN has thus proposed a simplified, globally applicable indicator for accessibility (SDG 11.2.1) that measures the share of the population with convenient access to public transport. Building on this definition and leveraging on open data sources, we analyze potential accessibility gains under Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in Metro Manila, Philippines. We show that the integration of paratransit (i.e., jeepneys) into the transit network could almost triple accessibility from 23.9 % to 65.0 %. The integration of micro-mobility (i.e., e-scooter and bicycles) as a feeder mode could further boost this share significantly (to 97.9 % and 99.9 %, respectively). We outline and discuss evidence-based policy recommendations to exploit this potential and foster a sustainable development under MaaS. Finally, we conclude with a research agenda for micro-mobility and MaaS in developing countries, a topic which has been widely overlooked in the scientific literature so far.