The future of efficient, seamless and personalised urban transportation
As our cities continue to evolve and transform at a pace never seen before, connectivity and information systems are driving a new wave of innovation within the mobility sector. This innovation is resulting in highly accurate and reliable insight being delivered at the right time and to the right person, effortlessly guiding and helping them in deciding their next move on the transport network.
Connectivity will be the coalescing force unlocking significant value and opportunities to both public and private sector organisations. The wide spread adoption of mobile and connected devices has already led to new service offerings, modes and operating models being developed, while continually blurring the line between public and private sector offerings. All such developments however have one common goal, which is to deliver the best possible travel experience in getting the customer from A to B.
There are however three factors we see, that will help shape better customer outcomes for the public sector in their transformative journey to delivering mobility services in the future.
Governance, Leadership and Regulation
The mobility environment up until recently (in relative terms) was a simple one, made up of a public and private transportation network, each operating in relative isolation of each other. The pace of overall investment in future mobility services and technology is accelerating greatly and this has led to service offerings that deliver an integrated transport experience to customers.
Companies such as Uber and Lime are helping to bridge the gap for customers between public transport and their destination while Google allows you to look up real-time information on the most efficient route to travel when you leave your home in the morning, interestingly – this might not be your typical route because of peak hour congestion or a traffic incident.
The common theme arising from this transformation is the rapid expansion of stakeholders and organisations involved in delivering this integrated service and brings to consideration the role that the public authority plays in this equation. The answer often depends on the outcomes such an authority is seeking to achieve and the level of control they wish to have. Furthermore, broader external forces such as their capacity to influence legislation or the relative complexity of the existing network can also dictate their actions. Close collaboration between authorities, mobility and service providers in the private sector and customers is vital, notwithstanding some hard conversations may be necessary to help develop a balance between openness and regulation in helping them to achieve higher-level policy initiatives.
Harnessing Data for Everyone
The growing demand from customers to have more personalised and integrated services, has been fuelled by the wide spread adoption of enabling technologies such as smartphones and growth in connected devices. In many ways, the framework and policies around how we handle data will drive certain behaviours and outcomes within the market. This is reliant on having the right approach to how we gather it, use it and ultimately share it.
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Well thought data strategies can yield significant rewards for both customers and city authorities. One such example can be seen in how Transport for London (TfL) has developed open data frameworks to encourage the private sector to use data to develop better tools for the public. All public TfL data ('open data') is freely released for professional and amateur developers to use within their own software and services, subject to TfL guidelines and principles. This has spurred more than more than 600 applications used by almost 50 percent of Londoners. |
Taking a Market Specific Approach
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Every region and metropolitan will have their own challenges to deal with. For some, alleviating housing affordability and congestion will be paramount, whereas for others it might be in-equality or problems associated with lack of economic opportunity.
Ultimately, transport has not and never will be just about transport. It’s about connecting people and delivering opportunities to those who need it most, it’s about better housing and development, it’s about loneliness, society and culture. To achieve these outcomes, the private and public sector need to work together by engaging with their citizens while bringing forth strong leadership and regulation. Such leadership must enable as opposed to restrict innovative responses to these challenging problems. By taking a collaborative and a relatively open view, every region can work towards how they can shape their transport system to be the enabler in helping them to achieve the outcomes they seek.
Aaron Rodrigues
Senior Advisor - Digital Experience
T: +64 9 370 8000
Email Aaron Rodrigues
