The Place of Walking in Mobility as a Service: Appraisal of Active Modes for Sustainable MaaS Solutions[La Place de la Marche dans Mobility as a Service : Valorisation des Modes Actives pour la Création des Solutions de MaaS Durables]

This research aims to identify the current place of walking as a utilitarian active mode in MaaS solutions in the context of the French capital region. The appraisal of value creation mechanisms out of active modes represents a current challenge and a research gap to be filled to develop sustainable MaaS solutions and new business models. This study represents the first stage of a long-term research aiming to appraise the integration of active modes in MaaS solutions deployed in France. To do so, we analyze its context, characteristics, business model, and the current state of integration of pedestrian mobility they propose. A comparative analysis of the information provided for pedestrian itineraries was carried out to identify the type of information provided and the mode hierarchy in each MaaS solution. Firstly, we describe the territorial context, and the mobility dynamics present, including the modal share of active modes and a walkability index developed by the Institut Paris Region (2018). Then, we explore the institutional context of each of the entities having taken the role as MaaS operators. We identify and give an overview of their business models and policies, which directly impact the direction they decide to take with their MaaS solutions. Lastly, we start a discussion to synthesize the main findings and propose future directions for the following stages of this research. One of our research assumptions was that the mode hierarchy responds to the objectives and policies of the project carrier. This was found to be partially valid in the case of the studied MaaS solutions. This research can contribute to the scientific production emphasizing the role of MaaS solutions as catalyzers of sustainable modal shifts among specific users (Sarasini, Sochor and Arby, 2017; Pangbourne et al., 2020a). It also stresses the importance of incorporating better, high-quality information for active modes to enable enhanced intermodality and sustainable MaaS solutions.