Mobility as a service, platform uses and social innovation: lessons from South America

ABSTRACT

Platforms are becoming integral elements of urban transport systems, and more recently, platform technology has dominated the debate in implementing Mobility as a Service (MaaS) structures. However, for all the arguments on the impact of platforms on the future of work, and the deterministic technological nature of MaaS discourse, little attention is paid to social engagement and how people use these technologies. This research focuses on how entrepreneurial communities using platforms can challenge preconceptions around what constitutes MaaS and introduce a narrative for achieving mobility justice goals. This paper seeks to broaden the discussion around designing a MaaS policy to include consideration of how urban and regional residents incorporate platforms into everyday mobility practices, and what this might mean for mobility justice. People’s everyday engagement with a range of mobility options and platforms provides insight into how MaaS policy may foster equitable transport outcomes for groups that may be overlooked, marginalised or unrecognised in wider debates. This research from South America which utilises a human-centred approach has significance for other contexts such as Australia, to inform future policy directions which aim to promote mobility justice values.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobility-as-a-Service
• entrepreneurial communities
• mobility justice
• social innovation
• platform communities
• platform urbanism

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Geographical Society of New South Wales (GSNSW), the Australian Mobilities Research Network (AusMob) and the Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS) for the opportunity to present my research for the Mobility Justice Symposium, University of Wollongong, June 13–14, 2022. I would also like to thank the reviewers and editors for advice, suggestions and support for developing this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics

This research received authorisation by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Technology Sydney with the code: UTS HREC ETH21-5915.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Technology Sydney and its International and President’s research scholarships.

Notes on contributors

Luis Hernando Lozano Paredes

Luis H. Lozano Paredes is a PhD (c) in Built Environment at the University of Technology Sydney. He holds a MSc. in Urban Economics from the Torcuato di Tella University and a Master of Architecture (M.Arch) in Architecture, Design and Urbanism from the University of Belgrano, both in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Luis has extensive experience with a mix of urban and regional planning practices, university lecturing in Architecture, Urban Planning and Design, Studio pedagogical approaches and learning and instructional design. He is currently project manager for the Transdisciplinary School and the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at the University of Technology Sydney and also a casual lecturer and subject coordinator in the same institution.