Citizen Centric

Ep 05 - The Pioneer of Mobility as a Service with Sampo Hietanen

Episode Summary

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is slowly changing from an abstract idea to a reality in a few cities around the world and Sampo Hietanen has been described as the person that has turned the original high-level concept into a real service. He is the CEO of Maas Global and their service is called Whim. Whim is the first all-inclusive MaaS solution commercially available on the market and it gives its users all city transport services in one step, letting them journey where and when they want with public transport, taxis, bikes, cars, and other options, all under a single subscription.

Episode Notes

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is slowly changing from an abstract idea to a reality in a few cities around the world and Sampo Hietanen has been described as the person that has turned the original high-level concept into a real service. He is the CEO of Maas Global and their service is called Whim. Whim is the first all-inclusive MaaS solution commercially available on the market and it gives its users all city transport services in one step, letting them journey where and when they want with public transport, taxis, bikes, cars, and other options, all under a single subscription.

I speak to Sampo about:

• the promise that Whim makes to its users which is to provide mobility: anywhere, anytime, on a whim
• why the problem of city transportation cant be solved on a map through interventions such as traffic management etc
• how he first came across the idea of individual mobility plans and the inspiration taken from the telecommunications industry
• why its so difficult to compete with car ownership
• how MaaS can compete with car ownership because it doesn’t jeopardise convenience or freedom
• the role that cities can play when introducing MaaS
• how MaaS transportation hubs will play a major role in the future of our cities
• how beautiful and enjoyable spaces in cities make us more accepting of alternative modes of transport
• why MaaS Global have been developing on their data protection practices with a local law firm
• if MaaS subscriptions could replace the need to building car parking spaces in city apartment blocks

https://whimapp.com/about-us/
https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/smart-mobility/smart-mobility/europe/interviews/irresistible-rise-maas-global