Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2020 | Page 42

Sampo Hietanen had been thinking
about the commercial possibilities of the
concept for years. Finally, startup company
MaaS Global kicked off in late 2015 with
Hietanen at the helm. The “world’s first true
Mobility as a Service operator” went to work
with its app, Whim, which was launched in
December 2017. The application provides
users all city transport services in one app
and is the first all-inclusive MaaS solution
commercially available on the market.
With over three million trips made,
Whim allows users to journey where and
when they want with public transport, taxis,
rental cars, and many other options, all under
a single monthly subscription. The main idea
behind Whim is to “revolutionize users’
travel habits” in favor of circular modes.
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Busting All Paradigms
According to CEO Hietanen, mobility is the
second-biggest sector of economic activity
in the world after real estate, and it is enter-
ing “a hurricane of change”.
“Europe, with its walkable cities and
dedication to public transportation, stands to
be at the forefront of this positive change,”
Hietanen believes.
“But that is not going to happen if
every public transport operator in every city
tries to go it alone, which is all too often
the case.”
Whim was born global – and urban.
According to the estimates by the United
Nations, 68% of the world’s population will
live in urban areas by 2050. This means that
cities are facing even greater challenges to
keep up with the growth using their pre-
sent transportation systems, which creates
a need for new transport solutions and ser-
vices to simplify the trip-making process
for citizens.
Through the MaaS platform, users can
access a variety of transportation services
covering each individual mobility need.
While expanding cities struggle against
growing congestion and CO 2 emissions,
public transportation infrastructure becomes
an increasingly important element for the
livability of the cities.
Multimodal Muscle
In March 2019, MaaS Global and engi-
neering consultancy Ramboll published an