Mobility is undergoing a big disruption. The current concept of mobility is attacked by a number of new services and the mind-set of the service providers and the end users is currently changing. Mobility services are provided in a very fragmented way while the mobility needs are global.
With the explosion of both online mobility services and sources of open transport data, there is a growing need for marketplaces where users can find apps and services, and where service providers and operators can publish data and third-party services.
Mobility operators or transport providers negotiate contracts on a one-to-one basis, with no common set of rules on how to engage with other mobility operators on a European level. MOBiNET delivers the technical components, the business models and organisations structure of this future e-marketplace.
Currently the deployment and delivery of services for ITS requires one-to-one negotiations between business parties. In the absence of standards for all services, the parties must have compatible technologies or they must develop the means for interfacing incompatible technologies. Multi-party negotiations take a considerable amount of time, and incompatible systems create barriers for providing services on a Europe-wide scale. These constraints on wider development and deployment also apply to obtaining data available from different public and private sources. The processes are inefficient, implementing services in new regions or for new customers may require expensive equipment or infrastructure, and business-consumer relationships may be limited to a specific set of services by specific providers due to technology.
The MOBiNET project aims to address both of these constraints. It intends to develop, deploy and operate the technical and organisational foundations of an open-multi-vendor platform for Europe-wide mobility services. There are mobility service platforms in many cities offering a limited selection of services for public transit information, and there are multi-country platform providing information on a single service, such as parking space availability. However, such a localised or limited purpose platforms cannot attract a sufficient number of users or service providers to deliver a wide range of multi-modal transport options that cross national borders. This is the function that MOBiNET will serve when deployed. (1)
The MOBiNET project envisages the establishment of a framework where private and public ITS service providers, content providers, next-generation mobility services supplier and transport end users can meet and interact. It mainly configures as a global multi-vendor business-to-business e-marketplace and service directory where providers of transport-related content and services can publish and exchange their products, compose new services and reach a Europe-wide customer base.
This is achieved by the development and operation of some software components made available in the ICT cloud to the interested parties. A number of realistic transport and mobility services with Europe-wide interoperability and potential are also prototyped by the project team. The development and operation of these prototype services are enabled/simplified by the availability of the core components services and they are used as representative use cases to be demonstrated and tested by the 8 pilot sites in the project in order to evaluate the overall credibility of the concept both from the technical and business standpoint. The technical activity is supported by a dedicated business analysis aiming at establishing a pre-operational environment during the project timeframe. (2)
MOBiNET creates a global multi-vendor business-to-business market place and service directory where service providers can publish and exchange their products and services and thereby enhance their offering and customer base. Public and private providers can publish services and data in the MOBiNET Service Directory to a wide and broad community, facilitating the creating of innovation solutions or enhanced existing service. Lastly MOBIiNET delivers a toolkit including core components which can be utilised by developers for new or enhance service offering.
MOBiNET delivers a number of the technical components and tools including connectivity, centralised billing and interplatform clearing, authentication, privacy and security, certification and conformance with industry standards. These components and tool represent real added value for the business potential that MOBiNET represent.
The MOBiNET project provides proof of concept that it is technically feasible to set up a Europe-wide IT platform with a certain set of rules / terms of reference where suppliers / owners of mobility services can engage in business-to-business activities. As a research project with specific business interest, MOBiNET examines not only the technical but also the commercial viability of a potential future commercial mobility platform.
Join the MOBiNET Provider Community
MOBiNET calls upon the stakeholder in the transport and mobility-related domains to register for the MOBiNET Provider Community. This Community allows transport and mobility-related content and service providers to publish their data and services in the MOBiNET Service Directory, to engage with the consortium of partners and provide feedback on their user experience. They will also be invited to participate in the consultations on business rules, requirements on technical integration, additional services and components.
(1) Paper “Business models for a Pan-European e-mobility Marketplace”, Michael Sena, Allianz Telematics Sweden
Paper presented at the ITS European Congress, Glasgow, 6 to 7 June 2016
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(2) Paper “MOBiNET – architecture overview of an innovative platform for European mobility services”, Marco Annoni, Telecom Italia
Paper presented at the ITS World Congress, Bordeaux, 5-9 October 2015
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