Felix Lukas Wagner

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) can be leveraged to implemented sustainable transport strategies in urban areas.Yet thisrequires not only a sustainabletransport agendabut alsodata governance that is aligned with sustainability principles. Theimpact of data governanceon MaaS’contribution to sustainability, however, has received relatively little attention so far in both academic and more practice-oriented research. In addition, no research could be found thatexploresthe role of local contextual conditionsand examines to what extentdata governance is aligned with a sustainable transport strategy.

This research aims to close this gap by (1) analysingthe current state of the art, (2) developing a framework to evaluate the effectivenessofdata governance toadvancesustainable mobility,and (3) exploring which conditions shape data governance structures in the local context and to what extend data governance is aligned with a sustainable transport strategy.By adopting a qualitative, inductive research approach, this studyaims to further build the theory that data governance of MaaS has to be informed by sustainabilityprinciples. In addition, it compares the two cases of moveBW(Stuttgart)and Jelbi(Berlin)byutilising Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysisand Developmentframeworkand conducting interviews with experts in the field.

The results of this research revealthat,in both cases,data governance isonly partially aligned with sustainability principles. Next to local contextual conditions, general themes that enable coherent data governancebecome clear,includingclose cooperation with thecommission for data protectionandthe development ofMaaS in a public-private partnership.In contrast, general themes that disable coherent datagovernance include alack of regulation for data interfaces in the German context,a lack of understanding of the environmental impact of the data infrastructure, and a lack ofcitizen participation.

Inthe context of MaaS, this study is the first attempt to analyse the novel connection between data governance and sustainable transport strategies. By doing so, this research contributes to filling a gap in the literature and recommends clear areas for future research. In addition, it highlights shortcomings in the developmentof MaaS thatneed to be addressed through close cooperation among institutions from both the private and the public sectors operatingin the field of urban mobility.