Maria Kamargianni

Bio: Maria Kamargianni is an academic researcher from University College London. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mode choice & Travel behavior. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 48 publications receiving 1215 citations. Previous affiliations of Maria Kamargianni include University of Dammam & University of the Aegean.

A Critical Review of New Mobility Services for Urban Transport

Abstract: The growing pressure on urban passenger transport systems has increased the demand for new and innovative solutions to increase its efficiency. One approach to tackle this challenge has been the slow but steady shift towards shared mobility services (car-, bike-sharing etc.). Building on these new modes and the developments in information and communication technologies, the concept of “Mobility as a Service” (MaaS) has recently come to light and offers convenient door-to-door transport without the need to own a private vehicle. The term Mobility as a Service (MaaS) stands for buying mobility services based on consumer needs instead of buying the means of mobility. In recent years, various MaaS schemes have been arisen around the world. The objective of this paper is to review these newly existing mobility services and develop an index to evaluate the level of mobility integration for each based on the assumption that higher level of integration is more appealing to travellers. The review presented in this paper allows a comparison among the schemes and provides the background and the key points of MaaS systems that the research community could use for designing surveys. It also provides significant insights to transport operators and authorities on the elements they should take into account to apply an attractive MaaS scheme that could effectively shift demand away from private vehicles.

The Business Ecosystem of Mobility-as-a-Service

Abstract: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a new mobility model that aims to bridge the gap between public and private transport operators on a city, intercity and national level, and envisages the integration of the currently fragmented tools and services a traveller needs to conduct a trip (planning, booking, access to real time information, payment and ticketing). As MaaS gains wider acceptance, there are several misperceptions about what this model is. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary definition for the MaaS concept, and propose the MaaS ecosystem where the role of each actor is described in details. The MaaS ecosystem is designed after personal interviews and focus groups with the involved actors. This holistic approach sets the ground for the MaaS concept and highlights the areas where research is needed in order to contribute to the materialisation of the concept.

The potential of mobility as a service bundles as a mobility management tool

Abstract: The Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept has recently taken the transport industry by storm. However, as applications and research on it are limited, there is still little evidence on what this new phenomenon could bring to the transport sector. This paper aims to provide initial insights into whether MaaS product bundles (monthly subscription plans) can be used as a mobility management tool to promote shared modes. Data from an original survey, specifically designed to study MaaS plans, was used with Greater London as the case study area. The results show, that even though respondents do not prefer shared modes in their MaaS plans, a significant number of them are willing to subscribe to plans that include these modes. Once they have subscribed, over 60% of them indicated that they would be willing to try transportation modes that they previously did not use if their MaaS plans included them. These initial results show evidence that MaaS bundles can indeed be used as a mobility management tool to introduce more travelers to shared modes.

Hybrid Choice Model to Investigate Effects of Teenagers' Attitudes Toward Walking and Cycling on Mode Choice Behavior

Abstract: The scope of this paper is to develop an advanced stated preferences (SP) survey customized to capture teenagers' behaviors and to estimate models of hybrid mode choices, in which the utilities depend on both the attributes of the mode and the latent variable willingness to walk or cycle. The SP scenarios include four alternative modes for the trip to school—car (escorted by parents), bus, bicycle, and walk—while the attributes are travel time; travel cost; walking time to the bus station; availability of bike paths, sidewalks, and parking places; and weather conditions. The data are drawn from a survey that took place in all the high schools of Cyprus in 2012. The sample consists of 4,174 teenagers (ages 12 to 18) and covers 8.7% of the total high school population. For the model estimations, 8,348 SP observations are used. It was found that the existence of bike paths and wide pavements significantly affect the choice of active transport. The latent variable enters significantly into the specification o...

Prototype business models for Mobility-as-a-Service

Abstract: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a promising concept which aims at offering seamless mobility to end users and providing economic, societal, transport-related and environmental benefits to the cities of the future. To achieve a successful future market take-up of MaaS it is important to develop prototype business models to offer high-value bundled mobility services to customers, as well as enable the MaaS operator and the involved actors to capture value. This paper aims at investigating the business perspective of MaaS by collecting qualitative data from workshops and in-depth interviews in three European metropolitan areas: Budapest, Greater Manchester and the city of Luxembourg. The analysis of the collected data contributed to the in-depth analysis of the MaaS business ecosystem and the identification of the champions of MaaS in the three areas. Prototype business models for MaaS are developed based on the Osterwalder’s canvas, to describe how MaaS operators may create, deliver, and capture value. Our findings indicate that the MaaS ecosystem comprises of public and private actors who need to cooperate and compete in order to capture value. Although noticeable deviations among the study areas are observed, mobility service providers, public transport authorities and regional authorities were commonly indicated as the key actors in a MaaS partnership. In addition, viewed as a system, enablers and barriers to MaaS are identified based on the systems’ of innovation approach. The analysis indicates that the regulatory framework of the cities, the lack of standardization and openness of the application programming interfaces and the need for transport-related investments constitute risks for the successful implementation of MaaS in the study areas. Trust between MaaS actors and cooperation in e-ticketing are key enablers in some of the study areas.

Mobility as a Service: A Critical Review of Definitions, Assessments of Schemes, and Key Challenges

Abstract: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a recent innovative transport concept, anticipated to induce significant changes in the current transport practices. However, there is ambiguity surrounding the concept; it is uncertain what are the core characteristics of MaaS and in which way they can be addressed. Further, there is a lack of an assessment framework to classify their unique characteristics in a systematic manner, even though several MaaS schemes have been implemented around the world. In this study, we define this set of attributes through a literature review, which is then used to describe selected MaaS schemes and existing applications. We also examine the potential implications of the identified core characteristics of the service on the following three areas of transport practices: travel demand modelling, a supply-side analysis, and designing business model. Finally, we propose the necessary enhancements needed to deliver such an innovative service like MaaS, by establishing the state of art in those fields.

Partial least squares structural equation modeling-based discrete choice modeling: an illustration in modeling retailer choice

Abstract: Commonly used discrete choice model analyses (eg, probit, logit and multinomial logit models) draw on the estimation of importance weights that apply to different attribute levels But directly estimating the importance weights of the attribute as a whole, rather than of distinct attribute levels, is challenging This article substantiates the usefulness of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for the analysis of stated preference data generated through choice experiments in discrete choice modeling This ability of PLS-SEM to directly estimate the importance weights for attributes as a whole, rather than for the attribute’s levels, and to compute determinant respondent-specific latent variable scores applicable to attributes, can more effectively model and distinguish between rational (ie, optimizing) decisions and pragmatic (ie, heuristic) ones, when parameter estimations for attributes as a whole are crucial to understanding choice decisions

How, when and why integrated choice and latent variable models are latently useful

Abstract: Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (ICLV) models are an increasingly popular extension to discrete choice models that attempt explicitly to model the cognitive process underlying the formation of any choice This study was born from the discovery that an ICLV model can in many cases be reduced to a choice model without latent variables that fits the choice data at least as well as the original ICLV model from which it was obtained The failure of past studies to recognize this fact raised concerns about other benefits that have been claimed with regards to the framework With the objective of addressing these concerns, this study undertakes a systematic comparison between the ICLV model and an appropriately specified reduced form choice model We derive analytical proofs regarding the benefits of the framework and use synthetic datasets to corroborate any conclusions drawn from the analytical proofs We find that the ICLV model can under certain conditions lead to an improvement in the analyst's ability to predict outcomes to the choice data, allow for the identification of structural relationships between observable and latent variables, correct for bias arising from omitted variables and measurement error, reduce the variance of parameter estimates, and abet practice and policy, all in ways that would not be possible using the reduced form choice model We synthesize these findings into a general process of evaluation that can be used to assess what gains, if any, might be had from developing an ICLV model in a particular empirical context