Pittsburgh has created 50 “mobility hubs,” in-person locations where all the modes can be found; residents can jet off on a Spin or Scoobi from there. The city is also piloting “universal basic mobility,” where 50 low-income residents are being given “all you can eat” access, as Ms. Ricks described it, to public transit, bike-sharing and e-scooters. Discounts for e-mopeds, car shares and car-pooling are also included.
“If people don’t need to worry about the cost of those individual services, or frankly of transportation itself — if they can remain focused on trying to reliably get to work, doctor appointments or get their kids to school on time, and they don’t have to be price sensitive — do we get better social outcomes from that?” asked Ms. Ricks.
The question also harkens back to the original dilemma: Can MaaS lure people out of their cars?
So far, the evidence of a modal shift appears shaky. In Finland, Whim and other operators never amassed a huge…