Nordic experiences with smart mobility: Emerging services and regulatory frameworks

In a time where emerging technologies bundled within “smart mobility” represent a new transformation of the mobility system, it is critical that governments pro-actively take part in these developments. This means steering measures to ensure that the benefits of innovative technologies contribute towards a sustainable mobility system and avoiding the risk of increased attractiveness and use of private motorized transport, such as private cars. New technologies, largely accelerated by the ongoing digital transformation in mobility, have the potential to disrupt existing market structures entirely. Existing legal and regulatory frameworks may not be prepared for accommodating new and innovative services. It is therefore critical to gain more a thorough understanding of how new smart mobility services need and may be governed through regulatory frameworks. This paper looks into approaches and experiences in Finland and Norway, focusing on the role the public authorities have adopted in the two countries with respect to smart mobility solutions and emerging Mobility as a Service (MaaS) offerings in particular. The paper first presents a typology of new mobility services and a review of emerging services. An analysis is then presented of the interplay between the government as a regulatory authority and the new MaaS initiatives, drawing on the frameworks by Docherty et al. (2018) on elements and challenges related to the transition to smarter mobility. Our main finding is that the services available on the street and challenges faced by the authorities in the short run are surprisingly similar, but that the toolbox available and the long run challenges may prove more diverging.