12 Transit Trends You’ll See in 2015

Jan 14, 2015

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The Future of Public Transit: Trends and Predictions for 2015

2015 is shaping up to be a big year in transit. As you would find in any industry that relies on technology, agencies are rapidly adopting new process aimed to provide a more modern experience for their passengers. So what exactly is in store for public transit this year?

We've consulted with transit professionals and industry experts to discover what trends will emerge in the transit world through 2015. We've compiled a list of 15 transit trends for you to consider as you lay the strategic foundation in your agency this year.

"We will want to see different approaches to how we can integrate into other vehicle dispatch technologies – to provide cost-effective, simple solutions which can aid in the delivery of paratransit services by different modes." - Martin Lay, Director of Transit Services, TransLink
"We will see agencies begin to shift towards standardizing their fleet or seeking to obtain solutions from a single vendor in order to capitalize on the benefits of a one versus many approach. We want partnerships that make it easy for me to replace when I need to, easy for me to keep spares, easy to maintain my assets. From a technology standpoint, we need to have the vision to move forward. When we invest in technology, we are in turn investing in our future. We want something that is going to take us there and keep us ahead." – Scott Mazick, Director of IT, RTC SNV
"One Call/One Click Transportation Resource Centers were spurred into development by the FTA in 2011. The number of these web-based centers will significantly increase in 2015 and will become more in demand not only by transportation providers, but by passengers and elected officials as well. Paratransit and traditional bus services are not a one size fits all for all people nor for all trips a person may take. It is in the best interest of transit agencies to provide a one stop shop for all potential transportation options and provide choices for their passengers. Once a passenger chooses the best option for their individual choice, they should be able to book that trip with a single click of a button." - Liz Peak, Regional and Flexible Services Coordinator, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
"Based upon my interaction with customers throughout North America, the cost of providing complementary ADA Paratransit service is a top concern for nearly every transit agency. Actions that reduce the annual operating cost continue to be at the top of everyone’s list. Some hot topics for 2015 in particular, shifting trips from complementary ADA Paratransit to conventional transit and limiting or reducing the ADA obligation (geographic footprint) through strict interpretation of the term “complementary” and the use of deviated fixed route service." - Jeff Zarr, Industry Solutions Manager, Trapeze
"In 2015 we will see more coordination of services and as such will need web-based solutions for multiple agencies to be able to share information. Agencies that currently do not have web based products will need solutions to be able to coordinate with others without having to purchase entirely new software." - Meegan Joyce, Special Services Manager, The Rapid
"One trend that continues and will become more relevant in 2015 is Big Data – actually using the vast amounts of data/information being collected by various systems in transit to improve operations efficiency." - Dmitriy Vanchugov, Enterprise Account Manager, Trapeze
"One of the things I am excited about in the near future is the ability of Google to start testing their autonomous technology on commercial vehicles like trucks. I imagine it won't be long before we see it start to hit the paratransit end of the business for testing as well. The changes to fixed route will come first." - John Gray, General Manager, MV Transit
“2015 and the years beyond see a major shift in clients/agencies to want to get out of the business of ‘hosting infrastructure’ in favor of embracing vendor supported, cloud based SaaS business models, thus allowing them to focus on their respective core competency. Another trend observed by us is an increased emphasis on ‘Rider facing tools’ such as self serving IVR, Booking Tools, SmartPhone applications ultimately leading to empower the end-user (Rider)” - Dirk Schniedermeier, CTO, Keolis
"The younger generations today despise using a telephone to speak to a customer service representative, especially if there may be a long hold time before the connection is made. They prefer to use the internet to explore options and to pay for various products. At minimum, the transit industry must recognize this trend and provide the ability to book their transit tickets by using mobile devices or the internet." - Liz Peak, Regional and Flexible Services Coordinator, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
"For 2015 we want to have a better understanding of technology changes and how they apply to the business technologies that we have in-place. Agencies need to be in a better position to understand, plan and react to those changes."- Martin Lay, Director of Transit Services, TransLink
"For 2015 as interest in public transit grows and ridership increases in most metropolitan areas, transit agencies are seeking ways to ensure that service is reliable and user friendly and that it answers the needs of the communities it serves. At the same time, agencies have to ensure that they are providing service efficiently to keep costs under control. One place to look for these efficiencies is in the scheduling of operators (and other employees). Scheduling departments typically drive Operations by providing efficient schedules and driver work. However, Operations is also faced with difficulties that may affect the driver schedule and render it inefficient. Operations may have a shortage of drivers or an upcoming series of retirements that will now force work to go out to dayoff staff at high overtime rates. By turning the tables and balancing both Scheduling efficiencies with Operational realities significant savings can be shown." - Dave Fulton, Industry Solutions Manager, Trapeze Group
"Over the past ten years, bus rapid transit has increased 383 percent. Globally, China is in the lead having added 538 kilometers of BRT in the last ten years, dramatically up from only one system of 14 km in 2004. Fully expect this to continue over the next ten years, as more and more cities and countries discover the benefits of BRT. China, India, and Central and Southeast Asia all have multiple new systems in development, and we’re really excited about the potential of Africa, the most rapidly urbanizing continent, where work on BRT systems is progressing in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.” - Jacob Mason, Transport Research and Evaluation Manager for ITD

Did we miss any important trends, is your agency already moving towards adopting some of these strategies? Let us know in the comments below!