Technology is already shaping public transport networks – and there’s an appetite for more
Passenger transport organisations are harnessing a range of technologies to track mobility patterns and tailor networks to meet demand in the most efficient way. However, not everyone is satisfied that the job is being done as well as it could be, and there is interest in accessing new technologies to enhance the quality of decision-making.
These are the findings of a survey of 49 passenger transport professionals undertaken by Passenger Transport and data specialists CitySwift. Many well-known industry faces responded to The State of UK Public Transport survey, which included a series of questions on technology.
Respondents were hungry for technological solutions to boost the performance of public transport networks. One cited the need to improve revenue optimisation versus cost over a whole network. Others spoke of the need to deliver “more realistic schedules,” “optimise service reliability,” “reduce lost mileage,” and harness “AI for predictive schedules using past data to project forwards.”
[It’s] absolutely vital to use data to better match capacity and demand
Jeremy Meal, an independent transport consultant, said it was “absolutely vital to use data to better match capacity and demand”.
Ticketing and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) are popular forms of network data in planning. More than half of the respondents use these sources of data when planning their networks. Almost a fifth use TransXChange, the UK nationwide standard for exchanging bus schedules and related data.
There are wide variations in terms of how frequently network data is reviewed – with equally sized groups doing it daily, weekly and monthly. Half-yearly is the most common timeframe for implementing changes to networks.
There is interest in more dynamic scheduling. A third of respondents (33.3%) believe that the network they are responsible for would benefit from offering a more dynamic service.
Most are confident that their organisation understands current mobility patterns – but there’s room for improvement. Confidence is much lower when it comes to balancing supply and demand on public transport networks. Only 5.9% awarded their organisation full marks for accurately and efficiently balancing supply with demand. The overwhelming majority (72.5%) rated their organisation three or less out of five on this measure.
What they told us..
What network data, if any, do you use in planning?
Ticketing (60.8%)
AVL (51.0%)
TxC (19.6%)
How often do you review this data, on average?
Daily (19.6%)
Weekly (21.6%)
Monthly (21.6%)
Half-yearly (2%)
Other or N/A (35.2%)
How often do you make changes to the network, on average?
Daily (2.0%)
Weekly (5.9%)
Monthly (9.8%)
Three-monthly (2.0%)
Half-yearly (33.3%)
Yearly (3.9%)
Other or N/A (43.1%)
On a scale of 1-5, do you think the network you’re responsible for would benefit from offering a more dynamic service? For example, specific day of week schedules.
1 (27.5%)
2 (15.7%)
3 (23.5%)
4 (17.6%)
5 (15.7%)
On a scale of 1-5, how confident are you that your organisation understands current passenger mobility patterns within the network you’re responsible for?
1 (3.9%)
2 (7.8%)
3 (33.3%)
4 (37.3%)
5 (17.6%)
On a scale of 1-5, how confident are you that the network you’re responsible for is accurately and efficiently balancing supply with demand?
1 (11.8%)
2 (17.6%)
3 (43.1%)
4 (21.6%)
5 (5.9%)
This article appears inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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The post Sector seeks new data tools first appeared on Passenger Transport.