The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) envisions MOD as a safe, reliable and carefree mobility ecosystem that supports complete trips for all, both personalized mobility and goods delivery. MOD has three major guiding principles: traveler centric and consumer driven, data connected and platform independent, multimodal and mode agnostic (Shaheen, Cohen, Yelchuru, & Sarkhili, 2017).
The USDOT Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) describes MOD as an Innovative, user focused approach which leverages transit networks and operations, real-time data, connected travelers and cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to allow for a more traveler-centric, transportation system-of-systems approach, providing improved mobility options to all travelers and users of the system in an efficient and safe manner.
MOD is an integrated and connected multi-modal network of safe, affordable, and reliable transportation options that are available and accessible to all travelers. [FTA Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation]
Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
United States (U.S.): MaaS is a mobility platform in which a traveler can access multiple transportation services over a single digital interface. MaaS primarily focuses on passenger mobility (and in some cases goods delivery) allowing travelers to seamlessly plan, book, and pay for a multimodal trip on a pay-as-you-go and/or subscription basis (Shaheen & Cohen, 2020; Shaheen et al., 2020).
Europe: MaaS Integrates various forms of transport services into a single mobility service accessible on demand. A MaaS operator facilitates a diverse menu of transport options to meet a customer's request, be they public transport, ride-, car- or bike-sharing, taxi or car rental/lease, or a combination thereof. For the user, MaaS can offer added value by using a single application to provide access to mobility with a single payment channel instead of multiple ticketing and payment operations (Schweiger et al., 2019). MaaS can also be used to describe digital transport service platforms that enable users to access, pay for, and get real-time information on, a range of public and private transport options (Enoch, 2018).
MOD vs MaaS
MOD is a term more commonly used in the U.S., while MaaS is used in other parts of the world (Europe, Asia, Australia, and others). The definitions and descriptions of the two terms indicate that there are some similarities but also differences. MaaS emphasizes app-based service and availability of subscription models. MOD is intended to facilitate improved personal travel and goods delivery (Shaheen & Cohen, 2020). However, both MOD and MaaS converge on their emphasis towards physical, fare, and digital multimodal integration (Shaheen & Cohen, 2020).