The paradigm shift in the uses of mobility services demanded by citizens from transport operators, whether public or private, is boosting the development of platforms to offer the best solutions to user needs. Companies like Renfe, B:SM, Saba, or Seat understand that travelers want their "obligatory" door-to-door journeys resolved in the easiest possible way, as highlighted by the heads of these firms who participated in the round table The user at the center of mobility services (MaaS), organized within the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW).
For these companies that are part of the mobility services chain, it is important that citizens have access to the global transport network, whether with one or several technological platforms, but "we must be intermodal", specified Marta Labata, CEO of B:SM. For this executive, "we must find broad consensus among all transport operators to act long-term on infrastructure planning and user services", among other things because studies indicate that 70% of the population will live in the metropolitan areas of large cities within two decades", and this challenge must be addressed "in a coordinated manner". Labata insisted that traveler transport service platforms must be open so that they "bring together the maximum existing offer".
Lucas Casasnovas, director of Seat Mó, the sustainable micromobility division of this automotive brand, expressed himself in the same vein. Casasnovas assures that integrating all services and making them accessible to travelers is essential because the future involves "democratizing mobility", among other things, since new generations are not interested in owning a means of transport, whether a car or a motorcycle.
"People want to buy mobility services instead of means of transport," added Manuel Villalante, Head of Strategy and Development at Renfe. From the perspective of a public collective transport operator, Villalante has assured that this type of service cannot be replaced "but to be more efficient, an inclusive system must be designed that allows all operators to enter to jointly make their service offering more competitive." "In terms of transport, the separation between public and private, between individual and collective, is increasingly narrow," Villalante specified.
Transport operators, public or private, warn the administration that it is necessary to be "brave" to legislate and create infrastructure.For his part, Josep Martínez Vila, CEO of Saba, the operator specialized in parking management, stated that technology has facilitated shared mobility but that "the necessary infrastructure is also required to resolve aspects such as electrification or logistics and "it is in this area where car parks play an essential role." "The parking lot is a sustainable mobility hub ---he said--- and of services, like a container with space for shared transport, for electric charging and for last-mile distributionwhich, let's not forget, is where 40% of all emissions in a large city like Barcelona or Madrid are generated."
The speakers also reflected on the role that the administration should play, asking it to "be brave" and to "legislate," and to "develop the necessary infrastructure with a long-term vision" in terms of mobility. "If we are not disruptive also in regulatory, legal, and payment areas and only in technological aspects, we will not advance in sustainable and shared mobility," Villalante pointed out.