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Transit Trends: What’s the Focus for Transit Professionals in 2019?

Dec 14, 2018
Last updated: May 6, 2019
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Transit Trends

Year-in-reviews are fun but looking toward the future is even better. At Transit Unplugged, the podcast featuring some of the industry’s top leaders, we’ve had an incredible 2018. We’ve had 24 episodes, received accolades, and learned a lot from some of the industry’s top transit professionals. But, we think 2019 can (and will) be even better.

As the year comes to a close, we asked some of our guests (previous and future) to answer one question about the next year: what is the top transit trend that you will focus in 2019? Here's what some of the top transit professionals had to say.

Customer Experience and Education

The transit rider’s experience is always at the forefront of our minds. A few years ago, it was all about real-time information (and still is, in some cases). But beyond that, you need to rethink how your service is set up – frequency, routes, and additional services. Additionally, with the introduction of new technology or a change of your system, educating your ridership, so you don’t accidentally alienate someone is a challenging task.

Bill Carpenter, CEO of RTS, was our first guest on Transit Unplugged, so we are honored to have him contribute his plans for 2019. In fact, during his episode, he talked about how a revamp of RTS’ system was in the works, which is now in full swing.

"RTS is in the midst of significant improvement of our transit system. When fully implemented, our customers will benefit from direct, high-frequency routes complemented with transit that is customized for areas that are not well served by traditional public transit. Our innovative mobility choices will offer better access, frequency, and reliability."

"It is an exciting time in public transportation, as technology is offering new ways for us to deliver our services. The enhancements in technology and new services will be easily embraced by many existing customers and are expected to attract new riders. However, the changes can be challenging and intimidating for some of our customers who are very accustomed to the traditional ways of using transit. We must focus on integrating, communicating, and educating existing and future customers on the enhancements in a way that the transit experience will be improved for all our customers."

Emerging Technology

The advancements of modern technology look to push the industry into a highly-sophisticated, mobility-first way of thinking. But the success of the new mobility landscape depends on procuring cost-saving technologies providing service to less-dense areas, and an easier way to pay for and take shared mobility options. Carolyn Flowers is Americas Transit Practice Leader at AECOM and said that "In 2019, the impact of technology will continue to drive changes in transit service planning and delivery. Significant investment in new technologies can improve access to transit, mobility, and efficiency. Whether it is a decision about the type of rolling stock or how to effectively serve the customer base, new technologies are determinants in the strategic direction of public transit.

Electrification of transit bus vehicles supports sustainability and attaining climate goals along with providing operating cost efficiencies. California is leading the way with the mandate for Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs). But, the potential market for ZEBs is expanding with additions of this technology to transit fleets around the country."

Autonomous Vehicles

Probably the most talked about topic circling the industry over the past year – and one that will have even more eyes on it in 2019 – is autonomous vehicles. Many think that the goal for AVs is to provide service to less dense areas where a high-capacity route can’t be justified. But, there are ideas that larger AVs have their place within public transit. Carolyn Flowers went on to explain that, "Level 5 automated 40-foot buses are on the horizon in 2019. Scotland will host a trial next year of the first autonomous full-sized passenger bus fleet. The availability of automated buses will transform operations and service delivery. There will be a new mode, a transition of the Bus Rapid Transit model to Automated Rapid Transit."

In fact, Paul Comfort, VP, Business Development at Trapeze Group and host of the Transit Unplugged podcast, joined the shared autonomous vehicles (SAV) episode where he added, "Shared autonomous vehicles will be a top transit trend for 2019. Already, they are going into service in several cities and not just for campus shuttles. I foresee more transit agencies piloting new uses for these SAVs as first-mile, last-mile solutions to transit hubs, for tourist routes, for downtown shuttles on tight streets, and more."

Mobility as a Service, Easy Faring, and Data

The mobility landscape is changing, and as with any change, there is always a bit of fear about what comes next. However, most of our transit leaders believe that Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is just another tool for public transit to leverage. This gives riders the ability of choice and gets them to where they want to go, in the shortest, cheapest, or most efficient way possible.

Carolyn Flowers explained that "There will be further market penetration into the transit industry of MaaS. Customers are expecting mobility solutions based on their travel needs. They want access through smartphone technology to a single account that combines transportation services from public and private transportation providers to manage their trip. Transit agencies have already started to enter into partnerships to provide seamless travel options. Fare payment and back office technologies will be key components in aggregating and managing these services.” 

Tina Quigley echoed that sentiment saying, “We will continue to focus on utilizing advanced technologies to obtain and leverage data to better understand travel patterns, roadway conditions, security needs, and operational performance. This valuable insight will help us provide a more efficient transit system and transportation network that can better predict and respond to the mobility needs of our community. In addition, for public transit to remain a relevant mobility option, we need to build partnerships to provide integrated mobile solutions that enable customers to pay for a trip involving multiple modes of transportation (transit, rail, rideshare, bike share, etc.) with just one swipe on an app.”

President and Executive Director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Gary Thomas, explained that his agency "will take the next steps in fully integrating all modes into our GoPass™ app. DART is at the forefront of creating payment choices that align with changing customer habits. Our GoPass™ mobile ticketing app was the first multi-modal, multi-agency tool of its kind when it launched in 2013. Our updated app is the first of its kind to deliver a “cash-to-mobile” option to help us reach the unbanked market, and includes fare-capping, which makes transit even more affordable and improves the rider experience. Our next evolution of the app brings ride and car-sharing into the mix, giving customers the ability to create and pay for complete trips from our app.”

Additional Considerations for the Future of Mobility

The future of mobility is uncertain. That is, it is uncertain how all the different types of mobility options will fit together. What is less uncertain is that passengers want options and this change is bound to create an exciting future trying to complete this crazy, complicated, mobility jigsaw puzzle – we still don’t even know how many pieces there are or what picture we are trying to create. But doesn’t that make the puzzle that much more fun?

Mark Joseph is the Global Chief Development Officer for Transdev and explained that “2019 is the tipping point for serious scaling of viable mobility ecosystems. These ecosystems will benefit from seamless journey planning, vehicle status, booking, and payment for an increasing number of modal options. Micromobility is here to stay and will scale at a pace unseen before in the industry (example: Austin, Texas experienced one million rides in the first three months of scooter service), while AVs will begin to significantly scale this year and prove the commercial value and attractiveness of this service. The mobility space will become both more collaborative, as well as more competitive at the same time.”

He even added a question of his own, "What are the implications for regulators, transit agencies, and private operators? More urgency for regulators to tackle existing issues regarding micromobility, AVs, and TNCs (safety, curb space, congestion, etc.). There will be increased political pressure to reduce transit funding if ridership trends continue in a negative direction. The good news is opportunities to improve service and gain ridership abound. This includes adopting signal prioritization technology to reduce travel times by prioritizing high occupancy buses and trains through intersections. This is already working successfully in a number of cities. Transportation is becoming a technology business – look for a further discussion on who will be the next partners.”


 
Nicholas Furi is Trapeze's Content Marketing Specialist where he focuses on creating new content on the trends and challenges in the transit industry (and how to solve them). He also manages their third-party editorial contributions and works behind the scenes on Transit Unplugged, the transit podcast focusing on top transit professionals talking about the things that matter most to them, unfiltered and unplugged. Previously, he worked for B2B companies and wrote for an online publication. Nick has a Bachelor of Commerce, where he majored in Marketing, from the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan.
 
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