Travel Behavior Study and Feasibility of MaaS in Bangkok

Abstract

 Mobility as a Service (MaaS) integrates public transport systems and enhance travelers’ convenience. If the MaaS system can be implemented in Thailand, it could encourage more usage of public transport. Moreover, it might get people to shift away from private transport which is the main cause of traffic congestion in Bangkok. This study aimed to investigate traveling behaviors from those who have experience on multiple travel modes, including shared mobility. This study focused on Chulalongkorn University students’ travel behavior as a case study. Another objective was to explore a feasibility of the MaaS in Bangkok from qualitative interview and Application development. Travel behavior data came from a survey of 681 questionnaires answered by Chulalongkorn University students. The data were then analyzed by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and were summarized by data visualization. The feasibility study of the MaaS came from qualitative interview with 4 service providers, including the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), BTS, Muvmi, and Ha:mo. The analyses on the users' side showed that priority of traveling factors from high to low as follows: Travel time, comfort and convenience, data reliability, accessibility, safety and fare. On the service providers’ side, all of them are cooperative to launch the MaaS in Thailand. However, important issues must be considered: A fair data sharing and fare distribution. Therefore, the study discovers 6 key ingredients of the MaaS, which are cooperation, public awareness, personalization, user experience, innovation and data sharing. The development and testing of MaaS applications yields prospect result in that the users can take advantages of MaaS feature and wish to make the real use.