New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) userbase to reach almost 74 million over the next five years globally, as government support for MaaS growth, a new report said on Monday.

According to Juniper Research, the MaaS userbase will grow by 326 per cent by 2028.

Bicycles and eScooters represent a strong segment of MaaS.

With the urbanisation of cities promoting sustainability, the prevalence of micromobility options to facilitate last-mile journeys will rise.

According to the report, North America represents the region with the most significant user growth; demonstrating that MaaS can work beyond Europe.

"With renewed interest in the development of improved public transport in cities like Washington DC, Portland, and Montreal, this has extended the scope of offerings and encouraged uptake," the researchers said.

Moreover, the report mentioned that micromobility vehicles will travel 28.3 million miles in 2028, from 2.9 million in 2023.

Given that last-mile solutions are a major barrier to public transit adoption, micromobility should be considered a priority for MaaS initiatives going forward.

According to the key MaaS vendors, outside of challenges, including fragmentation of transport offerings, the lack of consumer revenue for MaaS platforms has become a critical consideration for the market.

MaaS platforms that primarily offer generic B2C apps for journey planning, booking, and payments suffer from a lack of uptake and revenue.

Unless value-added services are offered, the longevity of these platforms is uncertain, the report said.