Digital transport technology is catching on, from apps that let you buy train tickets with a single swipe to sophisticated car-sharing systems. They may be easy to use, but such transport services often mask an array of complex technical, financial and public-policy decisions.
One morning, your alarm clock goes off earlier than planned. A technical problem on a tram line has disrupted transport in the city, and your travel app automatically calculates a new itinerary (and adjusts your alarm). Your trip now combines a subway ride and a short stretch on a kick scooter (conveniently available from a scooter-sharing service). All you have to do is follow the instructions on the screen to get to work on time - and you can rest assured that you’ve paid the best possible price for your travel tickets.
This kind of fully integrated service may not be as far-fetched as it seems. Since the advent of the smartphone, travel services have expanded faster than a high-speed train. However, many hurdles remain, and it’s still not clear exactly what form the new travel landscape will take.
In Switzerland, one of the most successful transport technology companies to date is Fairtiq. It developed an app based on a simple premise: users "check in" just before boarding a bus or train, and then "check out" when they reach their destination. The app tracks users’ itineraries and charges the lowest fare possible, taking into account local fare schedules and any flat daily rates that may be available. "The idea is for users to be able to travel freely without having to worry about which ticket to buy," says Anne Mellano, an EPFL graduate and one of Fairtiq’s two CEOs.
The Swiss version of the app works wherever the Swiss railway company’s GA Travelcard is accepted. Fairtiq’s system has been adopted in other European countries too - including Denmark, where over 60% of public transport tickets are purchased using the firm’s technology. "We currently have around 1.25 million active users across all countries we operate in, and process some 450,000 tickets each day," says Mellano.
Fairtiq’s business model is straightforward: the company sells its technology to public transport operators as Software as a Service (SaaS), meaning Fairtiq operates and maintains the system and receives a commission when tickets are sold via its app. The company also offers a software development kit that programmers can use to integrate the technology into other apps - the Swiss railway company took that approach with its EasyRide app, for example, before changing providers following a recent request for proposals.
Towards Mobility as a Service
For years, workable systems like Fairtiq’s have sparked dreams of an all’in-one Mobility as a Service (MaaS): a single interface that lets users plan, book and pay for all their travel via train, bus, bike-sharing, vehicles for hire and more. According to Jochen Mundinger, a computer scientist and pioneer in multimodal transport planning, MaaS is within reach, since it entails combining technology that already exists. In 2006, Mundinger - a former researcher at EPFL - founded routeRANK, a company that provided the first travel route calculator capable of comparing the length of time, cost and carbon emissions of itineraries involving several modes of transport. routeRANK was acquired by Zurich-based Netcetera in 2022.
Mundinger has seen a number of MaaS-labeled applications go by over the years, both in Switzerland and abroad. Some of them haven’t fared well, such as Whim, developed by Helsinki-based MaaS Global. The Whim app was held up as a model, as it pulled everything together into a single subscription-based service intended to replace the passenger car. Yet despite extensive international visibility, the company went bankrupt in 2024, illustrating how hard it is to monetize this kind of service.
However, Mundinger doesn’t believe Whim’s failure spells the end of MaaS - it simply underscores the structural challenges ahead. "Many MaaS teams tried to do too much at once, and at very large scales," he says. But achieving a fully integrated transport system doesn’t happen overnight. "We’ve taken a bottom-up approach from the beginning, rolling out one project at a time, always with a customer ready to pay for a given service."
An all’in-one app looks good on paper, but in practice, you often run into a very real problem - funding.
Anne Mellano, EPFL graduate and one of Fairtiq’s two CEOs
No clear business model
Mellano agrees: "An all’in-one app looks good on paper, but in practice, you often run into a very real problem - funding. Once you start to flesh out an idea, you realize there’s no clear business model." She believes the key isn’t to offer a slew of features but instead to create an app that fits in seamlessly with users’ existing travel habits, at a scale that’s feasible to manage - even if it means temporarily giving up on the idea of a comprehensive solution.
Another factor to consider is that today’s users don’t really mind switching between apps. "What they don’t like is having to sign in every time or reenter their payment card info," says Mellano. She also points out that European consumers tend to be more wary of super-apps than consumers in Asia, for instance, owing to data-protection concerns.
Personal data protection is indeed a thorny issue for applications based on tracking a person’s movements. At Fairtiq, the goal is to strike the right balance between ease of use, security and the fight against fraud. "Our system relies heavily on trust," says Mellano - the trust of users, public transport operators and local authorities. The Fairtiq app uses geolocation data to identify a user’s itinerary but limits the amount of data collected and stored, processing it directly on the user’s smartphone when possible.
Employers have a role, too
And then there’s the million-carbon-ton question: do such apps really change users’ behavior? "We’d love to have enough data to say yes, but we’re not there yet," explains Mellano. However, some targeted initiatives have proven effective. "For instance, we’ve carried out campaigns with cities and cantons in response to specific events - such as when major roads are closed - to offer public transport credits to people located in a clearly defined area. And in those cases, we’ve seen very high take-up rates."
Mundinger adds that, in his experience, one factor people tend to underestimate is work-related commuting. Decisions made by employers - how they allocate parking spots, the funding they provide for transport and the details of their corporate travel policy - directly affect commuter behavior. Today, Mundinger is advising businesses on these issues through his consulting services in transportation, IT and innovation. "Employers have considerable scope to influence workers’ travel habits," he says. "Apart from that, a lot depends on the supply of public transport, the costs - whether in terms of time, money or the environment - and public policy."
"Everyone benefits, but it’s not profitable yet"
Kenan Zhang, professor at EPFL’s Human-Oriented Mobility Ecosystems Laboratory , works on modeling to understand the behavior of mobility agents. These agents can be individuals, vehicles or transport companies offering mobility services. How does this entire ecosystem, often in competition, collaborate? And how can it be encouraged to collaborate for everyone’s benefit?
Kenan Zhang distinguishes, on the one hand, travelers who seek the shortest route - in terms of time and distance - to reach their destination. They have access to individual mobility but also to shared mobility services such as public transport, taxis, Uber and similar services, shared bikes, and emerging options such as robot taxis. On the other hand, there are transport operators - buses, metros, trains - trying to maximize travelers’ welfare and shared and on-demand mobility services seeking profitability.
To match supply and demand, platforms selling mobility as a service (MaaS) have emerged, with the goal of ensuring that everyone benefits. They integrate different types of services, offering new options to travelers. "For operators, it’s a good way to combine their capacities to provide better service, and for travelers, to obtain better mobility solutions," explains the professor.
Yet although this appears to be a win-win situation, platforms have not yet achieved the ideal scenario. "Today, several MaaS platforms exist, but they are not economically viable and require substantial government subsidies. Platforms must find incentives for service providers to collaborate with them and for travelers to use their solutions," Kenan Zhang continues.
"We are exploring under which scenarios MaaS could become profitable, or whether it truly needs government support for implementation. If we conclude that MaaS cannot be profitable, then it will have to be promoted as a social service similar to public transport," says the researcher, who sees MaaS as the future of mobility. "One of the ideal options is that, regardless of the mode of transport or route taken, you pay the same price." Another constraint is ensuring that operators do not lose control of their resources when selling capacity to MaaS platforms. For example, there may be competition between the services Uber sells through MaaS and those it provides directly. Finally, an essential condition for profitability is a sufficiently dense transport network.
References
This article was published in the March 2026 issue of Dimensions, an EPFL magazine that showcases cutting-edge research through a series of in-depth articles, interviews, portraits and news highlights. It is distributed free of charge on EPFL’s campuses.
