New challenges for transport planning : the institutionalization of mobility as a service in the Stockholm region

Sammanfattning: The new trends and challenges are transforming the traditional way of thinking and planning transport systems, with concepts like mobility as a service (MaaS) developing as a result of these transformations. Whilst, the concept of MaaS is still considered new, it is attracting attention from both researchers as well as actors involved within the transport sector. Countries are investigating, testing, and developing the MaaS concept, and Sweden is an active participant in this process with leading pilot projects and other initiatives in metropolitan areas of Stockholm and Gothenburg. However, the definition and ideas about this mobility solution are still not fully defined, and it is not clear how the implementation of the new ideas could and should be institutionalized in the real-life practices. Therefore, this thesis explores and discusses the institutionalisation of MaaS in the public sector in the Stockholm region. The theoretical approach of this thesis is based on institutional theory, which is used to guide the collection of data and analysis of the gathered dataset. The study utilises the method of document analysis and semi-structured interviews to collect information and abductive reasoning for further investigation. The empirical analysis draws attention to three overall aspects of ongoing institutionalization of MaaS: 1) the explanation of the process and drivers of it; 2) the emergence of new challenges; 3) and the impact of the institutionalization of MaaS to the public organizations. The final discussion suggests that in the Stockholm region the institutionalisation of MaaS is still nominal and uncertain when considered in general transport planning between the public organisations. However, the actors discussed are in the process of identifying the core challenges and are working to address them. These actions and changes manifest in the transforming roles and positions with the actors' network; in the development of new collaborations; and in the altering of future ambitions in the transport planning and the linkages to the long-term spatial infrastructural planning, which still lacks attention. The study outlines key areas of future research, including issues with the evolving requirements MaaS can bring to the transport infrastructure and the need for short- and long-term analysis of the MaaS impact to the sustainable transport system.