Willingness to adopt mobility as a service in a pre-deployment context: Evidence from Bangladesh using a dual-method framework

Abstract

This study examines prospective willingness to adopt Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Bangladesh, where no integrated MaaS platform was operational during the study period. A scenario-based online survey of 518 respondents across all eight administrative divisions was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The conceptual model builds on UTAUT2 and incorporates platform trust, perceived risk, and privacy concern. The PLS-SEM model explained 70.8% of the variance in willingness to adopt MaaS and demonstrated favorable out-of-sample predictive performance. Performance expectancy and platform trust showed the strongest positive associations with willingness, whereas perceived risk and privacy concern were negatively associated with it. The fsQCA results further revealed multiple configurations associated with both high and low willingness, indicating that prospective MaaS acceptance is configurational rather than driven by a single condition. Overall, the findings suggest that prospective MaaS acceptance in Bangladesh depends on both anticipated mobility benefits and confidence in platform operation. From a policy perspective, the results support staged real-world experimentation rather than immediate large-scale deployment, with early pilots emphasizing service interoperability, reliable payment and problem-resolution mechanisms, transparent data governance, operator coordination, and inclusive access. Such evidence can help policymakers assess whether prospective willingness can be translated into sustainable MaaS implementation under actual operating conditions.