SPOTLIGHT
FINLAND
Housing first: How Finland is ending homelessness a combination of, for instance, metro, shared bike and taxi is an attractive alternative to driving your own car. Moreover, this system encourages users to choose transport options with the lowest emissions by making it the easiest and cheapest way to travel.
Juha Kaakinen, CEO, Y-Foundation
MaaS can be a viable solution in rural areas too. Several interesting pilot projects are tackling the challenge of combining
Mobility as a Service makes it easier for people and goods to move around, but it will also cut down on carbon emissions rides and transport in collaboration with public and private transport operators. Have a look at the Open Arctic MaaS project in Lapland as well as the Alpio project. Both experiment with different ways of organising mobility services in less densely populated areas.
Although what has been described here is a local, Finnish solution, the challenges we face are global. So should the solutions. I am confident that we can find common ways and best practices–the OECD’s horizontal project on digitalisation has proven that in many fields undergoing digital disruption. We need to have the courage to change the way we do the most fundamental things, even if it might not please everyone. In the history of transport, many things we now take for granted started out as radical, daring ideas. References and links Visit https://maas.global/ Visit www.lvm.fi/en/home Share article at https://oe.cd/obs/2yF
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Do we dare take a holistic view? Legislation is only one part of the solution. It can enable change but, alone, it is not enough to make it truly happen. That requires co-operation between public and private operators, as well as among different industries and levels of government.
It was seven years ago when Arvo (not his real name) first walked into this building. Back then, it was a hostel for homeless men run by the Salvation Army and had a certain reputation. Arvo can still remember opening the door to his dormitory. There were three men sitting on their beds, their faces sullen and melancholy. This would be his new home for a while. Arvo had been down and out already for a while, staying with some of his few remaining friends and occasionally hanging around in public places, stations and staircases. His ex-wife and their
daughter were now just a fading memory. Staying at the hostel was better than nothing, but hardly more than that. Today, Arvo is opening another door– except this time it is to a rental flat of his own. It’s still the same building but it has been converted into independent rental flats, completely renovated and new. The building is well-located in the city. And while the flat is not big, it has everything Arvo needs, like kitchen facilities and bathroom, and an affordable rent. When Arvo moved in, he barely slept the first few nights. He kept expecting someone to come in without knocking on the door.