Interview

Sampo Hietanen: ‘It’s not a question of if Amazon and Apple will enter the mobility market, but when’

By Lars Christian Grødem-Olsen, MD Movability

Sampo Hietanen, former CEO of MaaS Global and a pioneer within bundled mobility and subscription based transportation, has spent years working to replace private car ownership with seamless, subscription-based mobility. In this interview, he shares his insights on why MaaS has struggled to take off, what needs to change, and how major tech companies could reshape the market.

Read the full interview here (6-minute read)

Sampo explains that simply bundling transport services in an app is not enough. MaaS must offer a compelling lifestyle with strong user experience to succeed. He also discusses the challenges of regulation in Europe, why people need clear value to choose shared mobility, and how future trends like AI-driven personalization and integrated mobility services could make MaaS mainstream.

Read the interview here.

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Mobility Research

Are Public Transport Authorities the Future of MaaS?

A study from the Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) investigates whether public transport authorities (PTAs) can become full-fledged Mobility as a Service (MaaS) providers. The study focuses on Kolumbus in Stavanger and Ruter in Oslo, examining how each agency expands beyond traditional bus and train operations by adding shared mobility options like electric bikes, car sharing, and autonomous vehicles.

Why Look at Kolumbus and Ruter?

Both agencies combine strong policy support with a willingness to pilot untested ideas. Kolumbus, for example, puts roughly five million euros each year into projects like electric bike sharing and on-demand car services, financed in part by local road toll revenues. Ruter, with an overall budget topping nine hundred million euros, organizes dedicated teams to explore “radical innovation” and quickly roll out new digital services.

Key Findings

1. Flexible Innovation

By running multiple pilot projects, both PTAs learn quickly about user demand and technology gaps. This approach encourages ongoing adaptation rather than one-shot investments.

2. Stable Financing

Kolumbus relies on ticket revenue for around 30 percent of its operating costs, while Ruter manages about 50 percent. Although neither can fully fund MaaS initiatives from fares alone, each leverages public subsidies and toll revenue to maintain experimentation.

3. Environmental Momentum

Both PTAs aim to be zero emission within a few years, spurred by national targets and local policies designed to cap private car traffic. Oslo already sees about 30 percent of daily trips taken on public transport, a figure the study’s authors say is likely to rise further if more modes are combined under one user-friendly platform.

Road Ahead

The research shows that PTAs succeed when three conditions converge: strong political endorsement, reliable financial support, and organizational structures able to adapt quickly. Norway’s example suggests that public agencies do not simply keep pace with private innovators; in many cases, they lead the charge. If they continue to refine their MaaS platforms and add more travel modes, the next step could be a nationwide model for reducing congestion and carbon emissions.

Read the full article here

News

Stories this month

Uber just sued Doordash over anti-competitive practices.

Doordash has reportedly contractually forced partner restaurants to be faithful to Doordash, and not enter into agreements with Uber Eats. In a way this is ironic on Doordash’s part, seeing as they're merged with Wolt who launched a complaint against Foodora (Delivery Hero) to the Competitive Authority in Norway for the same business practices in Norway in 2021. The Competitive Authority ruled in Wolt's favour, forcing Foodora to sieze the practice. If the lawsuit in the US is won, it would increase competition for acquiring partner restaurants, likely resulting in lower fees for restaurant owners and lower prices for consumers.

Read full article here

Voi rolls out 220 new lighter e-bikes in Cambridge

Voi just launched a new ebike in Cambridge, a lighter version than the Segway ebike most operators utilize today. It has smaller wheels, shorter length and is lighter in weight. Ryde Technology also utilizes this vehicle model in Kristiansand and Gothenburg. In our opinion this ebike could contribute to higher profitability for shared e-bikes, meaning they can be launched in more cities.

The escooter is and remains a great vehicle cost-wise since you can fit a multitude of them in a standard size van. This means that the cost of operating eScooters is a lot lower versus the e-bike. We're excited to learn more about operating these ebikes going forward.

Read full article here

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