As we close off 2017, I wanted to share some thoughts and predictions on how I think the world of transport will evolve.
Buses play a vital part in keeping towns and cities moving, but you wouldn’t exactly say they’ve kept up with the times. However, 2018 promises to be a big year. There are lots of players currently vying for the ‘pseudo-scheduled’ market, something that existing companies like Ford’s Chariot are already addressing. Apps in this space require lots of data and smart analysis to figure out the gaps in existing services that they can fill. Earlier in 2017 we saw Citymapper start its own night bus service, plus a partnership with Gett. Expect to see more of the same.
Further updates in the development and rollout of autonomous vehicles is liekly, but widespread adoption is still a few years away. Much of the real autonomous vehicle usage will continue to be small buses.
Expect to see a lot more from Mobility as a Service (MaaS) this year. Finally, if transit authorities wish to participate in newer transport innovations, they will need to move away from providing operational level data, to providing passenger level data.
Johan Herrlin, CEO
Ito World
