ZF joins the MaaS Alliance. Mobility as a Service for integrated mobility in city centers

ZF joins the MaaS Alliance, a pan-European interest group of companies and public and private societies that aims to bring about a paradigm shift in urban mobility, promote networked mobility concepts, and create uniform standards for technologies and legislation.

City centers ask for integrated mobility networks

The MaaS Alliance (and the concept of Mobility as a Service itself) is based on the premise that better mobility concepts are needed to avert the threat of complete gridlock in many city centers. Among the goal pursued by those who ’embrace’ the Mobility as a Service philosophy is that of connecting public transport and services, such as taxis, with ride and bike sharing providers, in order to create a perfectly integrated, seamless network.

The backbone for this, according to ZF, is formed by autonomous and zero-emission cargo and people movers as well as robo-taxis that are to take passengers to their desired destination on demand in the future. In order to accelerate the development and dissemination of such systems even further, ZF is now the first major automotive supplier to join the MaaS Alliance, a special interest group working to facilitate mobility as a service concepts throughout Europe.

Among other members of the Maas Alliance we could mention Alstom, Siemens, Allianz, the public transport companies Emt Madrid and Transdev, the French energy company Engie, IRU organization.

ZF and the autonomous shuttles of the future

ZF offers all the components needed for autonomous people movers from a single source. In addition to sensors, mainframe computers, software and functions, actuators (e.g. steering systems and brakes), and electric drives, the Group’s comprehensive technology portfolio also includes safety products.

At the same time, ZF is continuously developing its integrated systems for networked and automated applications. As recently as spring of this year, the Group further strengthened its position in the growth markets for MaaS solutions by acquiring a majority stake in Dutch mobility provider 2getthere.

For more than 20 years, 2getthere has been offering autonomous shuttles for a variety of applications, with the application spectrum of the fully automated electric transport systems ranging from airports, industrial parks, and theme parks to urban transport infrastructures.

MaaS Alliance for holistic solutions

Together with the partners of the MaaS Alliance, ZF wants to better identify and find sustainable solutions for the challenges posed by the new mobility concepts. “By joining the alliance, we are establishing important contacts both with other mobility service providers and with the public sector, making it possible to bring together our different perspectives and expertise and pull together in the same direction,” says Klaus Kimmelmann, Head of Corporate Strategy at ZF.