Who Benefits from Mobility as a Service? A GIS-Based Investigation of the Population Served by Four Ride-Pooling Schemes in Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

The emergence of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) holds the potential to satisfy passengers’ needs more flexibly than conventional public transport, while being more affordable than traditional taxi services. This paper examines the potential benefits of ride-pooling schemes for low-income urbanites. Using a GIS-based method, I examine four schemes in Hamburg regarding their coverage of public welfare recipients. Three out of four schemes potentially serve a population with a lower share of public welfare recipients compared to the Hamburg average. Furthermore, the populations in their service areas have a lower share of elderly people. One scheme stands out regarding both welfare recipient share and elderly resident share. Due to municipal requirement, its fare is much lower than the other schemes’ fares. From a low-income population’s perspective, only this scheme holds the potential to enable the urban poor to partake in MaaS.