Companies wishing to succeed in the coming world of Mobility-as-a-Service will face four fundamental challenges:
- Scalability. They will have to develop systems that can scale up or down quickly, easily and with minimal cost implications.
- Data. The collection, integration and monetization of usage data will be crucial to offering mobility as a service, not only in terms of gathering revenue but also in the planning and development of new services.
- Ownership of the customer. Getting and remaining close to the customer will be vital to developing new mobility services and revenue streams.
- Trust. Users must be confident that reliable and trustworthy security technology is in place to protect their data.
All four can be addressed with the right technology — blockchain. Blockchain’s combination of a secure, distributed ledger, cryptocurrency capability, smart contracting and open source design presents unique value in tackling these challenges.
It's a fundamental shift from the old command and control transport system structure to a fully distributed market where users make no little or no distinction between “public” and “private” transport and multi-modal mobility service providers take a central role.
So, there are many complex challenges to be faced, and much uncertainty over detail. But there is also an unprecedented opportunity to shape the future. How should you approach this opportunity? Here are some observations based on our experience so far:
The city as customer. Approach cities as customers and partners. Understand their increasingly important role as both the developers and regulators of the new mobility markets. Experiment with them to develop new mobility services.
Ambitious investment. Develop a strategy for bold investment where the ethos of real disruption replaces that of mere incremental innovation.
Holistic perspective. The goal of the organization must shift from “doing” to “being.” Discrete strategies for digital or innovation, for example, must be replaced by an integrated, holistic business perspective.
Business model focus. There are going to be many initiatives to get under way and manage. Make sure that the business model remains central to them all.
Human-centered systems. The new mobility business models will be driven by changing human behavior and needs. Make sure your processes and mechanisms are up to the challenge of capturing that.
But over and above these considerations is an overarching principle that we’re acting on here at EY, because we believe it’s the most important success factor of all:
Establish and maintain an open dialogue across the whole mobility ecosystem.
Because making the most of the future of mobility is going to rely not on narrow expertise in traditional skills such as engineering or marketing, but on having a truly diverse network and a broad range of collaborative partners.