Urban Transport Group (UTG) has launched a report setting out the implications of rapid and transformative technological change for urban transport.
Entitled ‘Smart Futures – our vision for urban transport,’ it highlights the key role public sector transport authorities will need to play if the benefits are to be maximised for both individual travellers and cities as a whole.
The report said that technological and wider social change is transforming urban transport in four key ways:
• New and emerging data can help travellers make better informed choices and transport planners make better decisions;
• A proliferation of new vehicle technologies means cleaner, smarter and more connected vehicles;
• Allowing for smarter and more integrated ways of paying for access to different modes of transport; and
• Enabling new players in the transport market to offer new services, including those that relate to the wider shift from an ownership to a sharing economy
It goes on to say that Urban Transport Group members have a unique perspective, and key role to play, in capitalising on the benefits for both transport users and the future of cities while seeking to mitigate or avoid the potential downsides.
Vernon Everitt, Managing Director, Customers, Communication and Technology for Transport for London, who leads for the Urban Transport Group on ‘Smart Futures,’ said: “Technology is developing rapidly. While no one can say exactly what the future will look like, what is certain is that as transport authorities we have a key and unique role to play in shaping its development.”
