Mobility Data Spaces: Breaking Free from the Prisoner's Dilemma

The ‘Prisoner's Dilemma’ is a classic scenario in game theory where two individuals, facing criminal charges, must decide whether to cooperate with each other or betray their partner. The dilemma is that each person benefits the most by betraying the other, but if both betray, they both suffer more severe consequences than if they had cooperated. It illustrates the tension between self-interest and mutual cooperation in decision-making.

Urban mobility, at its core, requires seamless collaboration among various players, namely public and private transport operators, technology solution providers, city planners, and end-users. The role of data as a fundamental catalyst for MaaS has been a recurring topic of discussion, with unlocking access to different data sets being key to ensuring superior levels of MaaS integration, the provision of services -from discovery to booking, payment, and planning- and therefore value generation, ultimately holding promise for rendering significant value to society through improved mobility that is easier and more convenient to use, more affordable, more equitable, and importantly, more sustainable overall. However, the reluctance to share crucial data becomes a stumbling block, mirroring the complexities of a classic prisoner's dilemma.

As a strategic asset, data is a key enabler for operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability in urban mobility. In public transport, leveraging data (typically from different sources, not all, and always under the control of the PTO) allows for optimised scheduling, reducing delays, and improving overall service quality, leading to cost savings and increased attractiveness, therefore fostering adoption by commuters. Strengthening public and (complementary) shared transportation systems relies on the availability and integration of extensive datasets, enabling planners to understand movement patterns, contributing to sustainable urban planning, and the provision of efficient mobility services that cater to the needs of end-users.?

The catch? Each stakeholder owns a piece of the puzzle, facing the temptation, and dilemma, to safeguard their data for individual advantage, if that makes any sense.

Enter (Mobility) Data Spaces: ecosystems designed to facilitate voluntary, sovereign, and secure (mobility) data sharing. In the European Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility, prioritising data availability and accessibility is paramount. Additionally, the European Data Act, which has just entered into force on 11 January 2024, establishes new rules for a fair and innovative EU data economy, supporting the mobility industry to break free from their concerns as to the Why of sharing mobility data and the How to do it securely, protecting privacy, while ensuring interoperability and economies of scale.

While the concept of Data Spaces is certainly promising, challenges in development, deployment, and operation must be addressed to leverage the momentum. With data spaces now reaching a critical convergence phase, and therefore attracting growing interest from public and private mobility stakeholders -including public transport operators and authorities, MaaS providers, OEMs, or freight operators- it’s time to define and validate use cases that work. It’s also crucial to raise awareness about their viability, technically-, legally-, and business-wise, and highlight their added value with KPIs that measure the positive impact unlocked. That’s why we at FACTUAL are proud partners in the deployEMDS project.

With Data Spaces, mobility stakeholders find common ground, fostering win-win business models. Clear incentives are defined, overcoming resistance to change within a historically data-protective industry culture. We at FACTUAL have explored the challenges and opportunities presented by Mobility Data Spaces in our freely accessible thought leadership report, “Unlocking the Future of Mobility with European Data Spaces” developed in cooperation with i2CAT and EIT Urban Mobility , and provide strategic advice to interested stakeholders.

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