A Finnish company is ready to invest millions in a smarter transport, but wants political leadership. The government is now opening the doors for development. Copenhagen has all the prerequisites for becoming a global showcase for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) technology, which is believed to revolutionize our transportation habits. This is what follows from the forward-looking Finnish service, MaaS Global, declaring itself ready to invest millions of euros in spreading the service in the capital.

“Copenhagen will be one of the most prominent places to get started – it has the potential to become a showcase for the whole world to change mobility. The area is big enough and isolated, transportation is good and the population is open to innovation. We are more than ready to open an office, but we have nothing unless we have the confidence and openness of the partners – transport providers and politicians, “says Sampo Hietanen, Managing Director of MaaS Global.

“Copenhagen will be possible for us to enter into this year. But it’s all about the will of the actors, and I’m not pushing them because we are experiencing very high demand at the moment. But cities and governments should take ownership of the vision, because the transport market will be disrupted (revolutionized, ed.), Whether they want it or not. The question is how it gets disrupted; It’s time to make the rules of the game and it requires political leadership, “says Sampo Hietanen, one of the fathers of MaaS Technology, who was in a conference on sustainable innovation at the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark on Wednesday.

The public transport sector in Denmark has seen the potential in technology, but has so far been unsure of how far the market was moving forward. In the autumn of 2016 the public transport company Movia and Copenhagen Municipality asked potential service providers to inform them of their readiness and interest in a possible tender. Now Movia concludes that the market is flourishing, and therefore the idea of ​​a traditional supply is dropped.

“Together with other mobility providers, like DSB and taxi companies, we agree that MaaS is the way forward and we are now confident that the market is ready to deliver. The Finnish company is welcome – we will not keep anyone back – and we will invite the market to start developing solutions, together with us and other traffic providers,” says Anette Enemark, Movia Mobility Manager. Movia will also invest in launching pilot projects as soon as possible.

Read more (Danish original): http://politiken.dk/indland/art6006859/Transportrevolution-kan-være-på-vej-til-Danmark

• The Danish public transport company Movia is ready to start up MaaS-pilot projects.