Private-Sector-Led Orchestration of Urban Mobility: A Case Study of Strategic Alliance Among Competing Railway Operators for Social Implementation

Abstract

Despite significant advances in technical interoperability, the organizational barriers to unifying competing urban mobility providers remain largely unresolved. This study examines a private-sector-led orchestration model in which a neutral consulting entity coordinated three competing private railway operators and multiple micro-mobility providers in a high-density Japanese metropolitan district — without governmental initiation or public subsidy. The central challenge was overcoming institutional friction: the deep-seated reluctance of legacy infrastructure operators to share operational data and revenue streams with direct rivals. Through a three-phase governance process — strategic reframing, technical standardization, and lean social deployment — the orchestrator transformed zero-sum competition into a coopetition model (Bengtsson & Kock, 2000) anchored in shared regional asset value. Empirical validation came from a 559-pass social experiment: 38.4% of users utilized three or more transport modes per journey, average per-visit spending increased by 1,757 JPY, and 62.5% of participants visited commercial areas they had never previously accessed. The findings propose a scalable framework for Autonomous Urban Orchestration, demonstrating that private-sector agility — when guided by a neutral mediator — can drive social innovation more effectively than traditional public-private partnerships.

Keywords: Maas, Private-sector Leadership, Strategic Alliance, Coopetition, Urban Orchestration, Stakeholder Management, Social Implementation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007602