Detecon Research: Mobility Platforms in the DACH Region

The future of the mobility industry is called "smart mobility. Mobility platforms are a central element of future mobility ecosystems because they represent the interface between customers and mobility service providers.

In the future, mobility will be offered and used primarily as a service. Customers will gain access to all mobility services via mobility platforms. Mobility platforms integrate existing mobility solutions and combine them - as needed - to create individual, multimodal mobility offerings. The data flows within the ecosystem enable conclusions to be drawn about mobility behavior and needs. Based on this, the transportation system can be intelligently developed further so that the needs of travelers and other stakeholders can be met ever better and mobility becomes more sustainable.

What was investigated?

There are a large number of mobility platforms that want to establish themselves on the market. This analysis covers 28 mobility platforms in the DACH region.
The focus was on travel options that are offered. The goal of the analysis was to provide an overview of the status quo regarding travel options offered on mobility platforms in the DACH region.

Regarding travel options, some specific questions were investigated:

  • Is it possible to plan and book trips?
  • Which typical travel distances are made possible?
  • Which modes of transport can be used?
  • Can multiple modes be combined within a trip?

The Detecon research team has developed a specific procedure for the research and analysis: The survey of mobility platforms through expert interviews was supplemented by a search of mobility platforms in corporate databases, and then mobility platforms were combined with various local instances to form a data set.

The analysis revealed that the market for mobility platforms within the DACH region is still developing:

  1. No player has yet established itself on the market.
  2. No business model has yet become established - the sources of revenue are diverse.
  3. The focus of travel services is clearly on urban areas.
  4. The availability of the user's own means of transport is currently only rarely taken into account in travel planning.
  5. Intermodality is not currently an intrinsic part of the offering.
  6. Platforms of non-public companies have a greater chance of dominating the market in the future.

Conclusion

Mobility platforms are still a relatively young phenomenon in the mobility industry. Their role in the future mobility ecosystem is not yet clear. It remains exciting to continuously observe the development of mobility platforms. As a technology & management consultancy, we are actively shaping the future of mobility.

Thanks to Nathalie Gath for her collaboration on this article.