Demand for mobility services is likely to rise when the effects of the pandemic start to wane, epyx has predicted.

The revised ways of working adopted in the pandemic are likely to make mobility solutions appear more viable to a wider range of potential users in the future

While the coronavirus crisis has had a negative impact on take-up in the mobility sector – due to the asset sharing inherent in areas such as cars or public transport – it’s also provided a means to explore ways for mobility concepts to gain greater traction.

Debbie Fox, commercial director, explained: “The pandemic has made businesses much more open to the possibility of considering a wider range of transport solutions, we believe.

“The ways in which car usage patterns have been affected, the growth in home working and the widespread adoption of video conferencing are all likely to make mobility solutions appear more viable to a wider range of potential users.

“The crisis has also created a pause where vehicle leasing companies, manufacturers and others who have been moving towards becoming mobility providers have been able to refine their ideas and their product offerings.

“Our view is that, as soon as the new normal becomes established in the wake of the pandemic, we are likely to see a definite boost to the mobility sector for these reasons.”

In particular, the pandemic has provided an opportunity for vehicle leasing companies to explore how to integrate their mobility offerings into two other major trends of the moment – electric vehicles and increased digitisation of services.

“We work with nearly all of the 50 largest vehicle leasing companies in the UK, and many of the conversations that we are having with them are about the ways in which these three elements will fit together in the future.”

Work at epyx centres very much around the digitisation aspect for new mobility solutions and the firm said it has a range of ideas about how mobility providers should be approaching their service delivery in this sector from a technological point of view.

Fox added that there was a realisation that the technology supporting mobility solutions would be crucial to their success.

“For widespread adoption, mobility services need to be easy to access and to operate seamlessly. The right technological infrastructure is essential to making that happen.”