Electric Vehicle Mobility as-a-Service: Exploring the 'Tri-Opt' of Novel Private Transport Business Models

Three distinct trends have emerged that have disrupted the dominance of privately- owned, combustion-powered car transport in the UK. First, the electric powertrain has emerged as an affordable means of transport; the second is the development of new hire models of car ownership: third, the growth of `smart city thinking' emphasises capitalising on increased connectivity and data availability to create value. We define the combination of these three trends as the 'tri-opt' of private transport -- three disruptors that should not be considered in isolation but as interacting -- an inflection of the`Energy Trilemma'.
In this paper, we apply systems thinking and a mixed methodology of workshops, interviews and systems modelling to the UK city of Bristol's Smart EV Transport Hub project to identify concepts that positively combine two or more of these three `Opts'. We demonstrate that there are many synergistic overlaps and that combinations potentially create significant value. Our data highlights that of the greatest value are those use cases that the current literature base has explored the least, and can be characterised as requiring significant public and private sector collaboration.