1.
A report from The Economist Intelligence Unit
How mobile is transforming
passenger transportation
Clearing the way for
more liveable cities

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1 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Preface 2
Introduction 3
Reaping returns from mobility 4
Static information and online purchases today 6
Resolving operational headaches through real-time information delivery 8
Resistance to mobility 9
Solving data-quality and technical problems 11
Connecting transit modes: car-sharing and pooling services as the next mobility wave 12
Appendix: survey results 16
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6

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2 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Preface
Clearing the way for more liveable cities through
mobility is one of four reports in a series that
probes how mobile technologies are transforming
organisations and lives. It examines how a new
generation of mobile devices is already making
journeys faster, safer and more reliable, while
improving efficiency and reducing costs—and
explores the great potential of growing amounts of
real-time data to better engage and serve
passengers. Yet, while new technologies offer
exciting opportunities, they bring new challenges
and regulatory risks.
The research is anchored by a global survey by
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of 116
transport executives, including public and private
transport operators and government and transport
agencies. The findings and views in this report do
not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor.
The author was Sarah Wachter; Carolyn Whelan
edited the report. We would like to thank all of the
executives who participated on the record and
anonymously for their incisive views.
Interviewees
Adam Cohen, researcher, Transportation
Sustainability Research Center, University of
California at Berkeley
Jacqueline Kopp, research expert on transport,
Center for Urban Development, Columbia
University
Ray LaHood, chair of the MTA (New York’s
Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
Reinvention Commission and US secretary of
transportation from 2009 to 2013
Nathan Marsh, director, performance improvement
practice, Ernst & Young
Graham Parkhurst, director, Centre for Transport
and Society, University of West of England, Bristol
Michael Replogle, managing director for policy,
Institute for Transportation and Development
Policy (ITDP)
Bill Wheeler, director of planning, New York’s
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Mike Wilson, managing director, transportation
practice North America, Accenture
Survey results are based on 116 responses from transport executives
spanning the globe. Most respondents hail from private transportation
operators (61%), public transportation operators (21%) and government
or transportation agencies (18%). Executives are based in Europe and the
Middle East (34%), North America (28%), Latin America (21%) and Africa/CIS
(17%). More than half (53%) are C-level executives or equivalent, 17% are
vice-presidents or equivalent and 9% are senior managers. Two thirds work
at organisations with annual revenues of more than $500M. Please see the
appendix for full survey demographics.
Who took the survey?

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3 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Transportation is a sector straining to keep pace
with rapid population growth and shifting mobility
patterns. Its principal pain points are congestion
and high costs.
These headaches are the fallout of an
increasingly urbanised and road-networked world
with underutilised mass transit systems. Pollution
from transport and road accidents can cost a
developing country up to 5% of its gross domestic
product, and these two factors take a greater toll
on productivity and lives globally than HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria or diabetes, according to the
2014 World Bank-led Global Road Safety study. In
tandem, many transit systems are now a complex
maze of urban, regional and inter-regional
networks, with many gaps and overlaps.
Against this backdrop and amid fierce competition
for scarce capital, much of the passenger-transportation
sector is now using mobile devices for
discrete, practical purposes: to boost system
efficiencies, to better engage with riders, and to
lower costs. The next set of mobile opportunities lies
in helping to resolve problems that hobble
passengers and operators alike, including
congestion, uncertainty and interminably long waits.
Increasingly, mobile is spurring new service
models and generating new revenue streams. And
as real-time data become increasingly available
and integrated across different modes in the
transportation supply chain, they could help cure
operational headaches and better meet passenger
needs through interactive offerings.
“By linking mobile devices to surface
transportation, you can create a much smarter
transport system that works…from the bottom up,
enabling users to get more effective transport
where they need it and save money, too,” says
Michael Replogle, managing director for policy at
the Institute for Transportation and Development
Policy.
Introduction

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4 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Each transportation subsector is tapping mobility
for different reasons, but a common thread among
operators is efficiency, cost and passenger-satisfaction
gains.
More than half of private transportation operators
surveyed by the EIU say mobile devices will help
them improve network or on-time performance
(55%). Slightly less say mobility is a priority to
reduce costs and to increase passenger satisfaction
(both 48%) and to boost revenue (36%). Meanwhile,
their peers in the public transport sector believe
greater use of mobile devices and systems will help
boost ridership (44%), passenger satisfaction (33%)
and public safety (33%).
And government and transport agencies foresee
better public safety (60%), greater employment
(55%) and curbs in pollution (40%) as the
principal benefits. These gains will be realised by
making commutes easier, by broadening shared-use
transport, and by linking transport options,
including bike and walking paths, experts
interviewed say.
1 Reaping returns from mobility
Improve public safety
Improve employment
Reduce pollution
Improve community quality of life
Reduce security threats
Reduce congestion
Attract businesses
Increase tax base
Reduce public expenditures
What goals does your organisation aim to achieve by prioritising mobile technology in its strategy?
Please select up to three
(% respondents)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, 2014
Government or transportation agency Public transportation operator Private transportation operator
60
55
40
35
30
20
20
5
5
Increase ridership
Increase passenger satisfaction
Improve passenger safety
Improve network or on-time performance
Reduce environmental impact
Reduce costs
Improve public safety
Increase public revenues
Improve workforce safety and productivity
Reduce congestion
Ensure regulatory compliance
44
33
33
28
28
28
22
17
11
6
6
Improve network or on-time performance
Increase passenger satisfaction and loyalty
Reduce costs
Increase revenues
Improve passenger safety
Reduce environmental impact
Improve workforce safety and productivity
Ensure regulatory compliance
55
48
48
36
26
22
16
10

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5 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Looking ahead, the sector aims in five years to
increase its use of mobile technology and data to
address its biggest and costliest headaches—
relaying information about delays and emergencies.
The payoffs of a better communications
infrastructure include cost savings and cutting
pollution by applying real-time data to operational
decisions—ensuring, for instance, sufficient
subway cars at peak or slack times. In the future,
the growth of this two-way dialogue will further
open the door to providing new products and
services to passengers.

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6 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
In this first wave of wireless data delivery, mobile
technology is helping transportation organisations
better connect with passengers in a more cost-effective
way.
According to the EIU survey, providing
information on fares, tickets and services; route
viewing/planning features; and ticket, pass and
trip purchasing are the primary ways operators
currently serve passengers through mobile
technology.
As they add new features and functions,
transport organisations are increasingly offering
mobile-payment options for tickets. Easy mobile
purchases are now available to commuters through
the national rail network in Spain, across southern
Ontario, Canada, through the Presto e-payment
scheme, and via the Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston.
This shift to mobile is helping reduce costs. Mike
Wilson, managing director of Accenture’s North
American Transportation Practice, reckons the cost
of managing fares accounts for roughly 15% of a
ticket’s price due to time-consuming paper and
customer phone-line transactions. This cost drops
Static information and online
2 purchases today
“The two great trends in the next century are
demographic shifts and climate change,” says Ray
LaHood, chair of the Reinvention Commission for
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) and US transportation secretary from 2009
to 2013.
Millennials, those born in the 1980s and
1990s, represent 22% of the population in the
greater New York region. Many eschew car
ownership for car-sharing services and the
subway, even at odd hours.
Because many millennials work on flexible or
non-traditional schedules and live in
neighbourhoods with limited peak subway
service, they are dramatically changing commuter
patterns in greater New York. Peak times are
becoming flatter, while the greatest ridership
growth is now between 7 pm and 11 pm on
weeknights, followed by weekends.
To accommodate the city’s most-connected
generation, the MTA has rolled out real-time
information on its bus network, installed
countdown clocks on major subway platforms and
published a map detailing weekend shutdowns in
real-time. It is also building a fully wireless
system in all stations and tunnels. This involves
installing a communications backbone so that all
460 subway stations can take payments when a
rider waves a smartphone at a turnstile or across a
reader panel.
case study How New York’s MTA is adapting to an influx of millennials
❛❛
The two great
trends in the next
century are
demographic
shifts and climate
change.
❜❜
Ray LaHood,
Chair of the Reinvention
Commission at New York’s
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority

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7 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
to 9% when transactions migrate to smartcards and
mobile devices, he adds. Transport organisations
are also using mobile technology to manage fleets,
to exchange information internally, to maintain,
inspect and repair vehicles, and to equip attendants
to serve passengers on station platforms.
Globally, transport operators are locking in
these wins despite the lack of ubiquitous wireless
connections. In developed countries, many riders
have sophisticated mobile devices; operators are
upgrading networks and launching new services to
keep pace with passenger expectations for quick
updates and easy mobile payments. In a poll
managed by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of
Accenture in 2012 and 2013 that covered nine
major world cities, 90% of riders said they expect
travel updates on social media, while one in three
expect mobile-payment capabilities.
As these offerings expand, new transport service
models are emerging to pair riders with real-time
data to plug gaps in the transportation system,
particularly over the last mile home. Ride-sharing
schemes such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar are
proliferating in many countries. Uber is now in
dozens of cities, guaranteeing door-to-door service
in five minutes. And Park-o-Pedia in San Francisco
helps drivers find nearby parking spaces, says
Adam Cohen, a researcher at the Transportation
Sustainability Research Center at the University of
California at Berkeley.

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8 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
The next mobility wave in transportation, however,
will help resolve a pain point that preoccupies the
industry and passengers: congestion, by relaying
more real-time information on emergencies and
delays. Congestion was ranked as a top obstacle
for both easy and reasonably priced journeys by
survey respondents. More mobile devices in more
hands and more ubiquitous wireless coverage in
transportation hubs will drive this change.
In five years, passengers will use their mobile
devices most frequently to receive alerts and
instructions related to emergencies, delays and
rerouting, and to buy tickets and receive information
on fares and routes, according to the EIU survey.
Experts say that the move is already underway.
“A lot of agencies are already publishing statistical
and geographical information in case of
emergencies,” and encouraging third-party
developers to build information services around
them, says Accenture’s Mr Wilson. The city of
Ottawa’s smart bus initiative, for example, helps
passengers access bus arrival information from
mobile devices. Meanwhile, many US drivers
receive real-time traffic data and routing assistance
through satellite navigation systems in their
vehicles and through global positioning systems in
their smartphones.
But in virtually all countries, insufficient
technology investment in the public-transportation
sector is slowing the expansion of the integrated
platforms needed to deliver real-time transit
information region-wide. The public-transportation
sector spends just one penny of every $10 of total
investment on information technology, an
Accenture study shows.
Still, some experts, including Mr Cohen, are
skeptical that emergency data is the next big trend
for car drivers in the US, because many passengers
with access to real-time traffic data are not
changing their travel habits, either because real
alternative routes don’t exist or it would be too
expensive to create them in clogged city centers.
“The real problem is a lack of alternative routes,”
he says.
Resolving operational headaches
3 through real-time information delivery

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9 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
The shift from static to real-time data is being
slowed by business case issues. Justifying heady
investments in mobile services is difficult without a
critical mass of passengers equipped with, or open
to, accessing real-time data delivery through
smartphones or tablets.
Indeed, roughly one-third (32%) of survey
respondents say passengers’ resistance is what
most gets in the way of quick and easy access to
travel information. A similar percentage (29%)
cites the lack of a desktop computer.
Today, of the eight channels that passengers use
around the world to plan and manage their
journeys, the personal computer (PC) is the most
heavily used, followed by customer-service phone
lines, according to the survey. Less experience with
mobile may be the cause. “It’s more about
education and outreach, [the need] to teach
providers and consumers how to fully leverage and
use these technologies,” Mr Cohen says. “Reliance
on customer-service lines in these areas may be
due to the comfort level… vs using text messaging
or a smartphone app.”
But that gap should shrink. By 2019,
4 Resistance to mobility
So-called informal transit systems in the
mega-cities of the developing world are
the primary way people get around
town. But the unregulated way in which
these systems have developed has
created a spaghetti bowl of overlapping
routes, unnecessary smog from
inefficient routing, and huge traffic jams
as buses converge on city centers.
In Nairobi, for example, 40% of
vehicles on the road are matatus,
privately owned minibuses that serve as
the city’s de-facto bus network. Until
recently, no map of the network existed,
and passengers had to rely on their
limited knowledge of lines and unofficial
stops.
Now Nairobi’s mobile-savvy
population can access a map on mobile
phones that was developed by equipping
the mobile phones of volunteer mappers
with global positioning system (GPS)
capabilities.
Thanks to the digital map, the
National Transport and Safety Authority
of Kenya is implementing a cashless fare
system for matatus that also calculates
standardised fares after commuters
enter departure and destination
information into their mobile devices.
case study Using mobile to untangle Nairobi’s matatu maze
❛❛
The Digital Matatu project
illustrates the power of
technology to support critical
data collection on transport from
below. It is also a challenge… to
start making data available to
the public to support
entrepreneurship, accountability
and better research and policy.
❜❜
Jackie Klopp,
researcher at the Center for Sustainable Urban
Development at Columbia University

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10 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
respondents expect smartphones to be the second
most popular channel, almost on par with PCs.
Perhaps that is why executives surveyed see their
top opportunities for 2014 as linked to providing
passengers with real-time information, better
network availability inside vehicles, and the ability
to make purchases.
Which mobile services do your passengers use today, and which services do you expect to support in the future?
Mobile feature
Select all that apply in each column (Number respondents)
Access information on fares,
tickets and services
View and plan routes
View and plan mixed mode routes and trips
Purchase tickets, passes, or packaged trips
Receive alerts on delays and rerouting
Receive assistance with alternative travel and
services in the event of delay or interruptions
Receive alerts about emergencies
Receive instructions in the
event of emergencies
Receive personalised offers
or recommendations
Access information about local
entertainment, retailers and public services
Access information on tickets and
services such as taxis or car services
Reserve, request and pay for
taxis or car services
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, 2014
77
51
46
53
50
45
37
52
41
51
39
47
43
61
48
46
42
46
45
61
54
34
38
42
47
46
38
36
37
35
29
38
38
26
38
35
Now
Two years from now
Five years from now

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11 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
To better connect with passengers via mobile,
executives say they face two thorny issues: poor
data quality and a lack of data integration.
Respondents rank a lack of quality transit
information across all channels as the top obstacle
to faster journeys. This may be due to difficulties
integrating data and systems across many
organisations, which executives rate as the top
obstacle to delivering data to mobile devices within
five years vs insufficient network coverage or
bandwidth today.
Common data integration hiccups range from
smartcards that do not work across all transport
providers to services that cannot be accessed in a
nearby transit zone or a neighbouring country.
But addressing data-integration problems will be
neither simple nor fast and will require greater IT
investment, says Accenture’s Mr Wilson: “Agencies
need to think about a single customer account and
more holistic, integrated platforms and invest in
vertically integrated solutions. To access data in
real-time, you need the right IT platforms,” he
adds.
Other data problems concern the need for better
data to more fully engage all segments of the
population, from the visually impaired to those
suffering from dyslexia. “The problem is producing
technology that is easy to understand by
everybody—[people] of all ages and at all levels of
education—and hardware that promotes good user
interaction,” says Graham Parkhurst, director of the
Centre for Transport and Society.
Solving data-quality and technical
5 problems
❛❛
A lot of
[transport]
agencies are
already publishing
statistical and
geographical
information in
case of
emergencies.
Open data is
already
happening.
❜❜
Mike Wilson,
managing director of
Transport at Accenture

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12 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
A new era is gradually unfolding in which mobile
technology will help solve the transport sector’s
biggest operational headaches: congestion and
delays. Most noteworthy are moves to link
transportation modes to smooth inner- and
inter-city travel.
To prepare for this shift, more transit agencies
and operators are joining the open-data
movement, making their statistical and geographic
information publicly available and working with
developers to offer new services.
In the future, ITDP’s Mr Replogle believes system
managers will receive real-time intelligence on the
location of congestion, system underutilisation
and capacity constraints. These data will help
drivers and system operators avoid traffic and
delays, respond to congestion issues more quickly,
and help passengers change routes to reach their
destinations faster.
Cleaner transport is also on the sector’s radar
through congestion charges and ride-sharing
programmes. Road transport accounts for one-fifth
of CO2 emissions on average, followed by aviation.
To create cleaner and more efficient transportation
systems across metropolitan areas and regions,
public-private partnerships are working to boost
and generate revenue from vehicle usage data
captured. The City of Manchester for example, set
up a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) scheme in which
transport authorities and commercial operators
share passenger data and direct marketing efforts.
Over the next two years, the SPV will roll out a plan
by which passengers can buy transit tickets
through both mobile devices and conventional
channels across all transit modes, from the bus and
rail network to electric vehicle, park and ride, and
bike sharing schemes.
A big opportunity lies in applying real-time fees
using a number-plate recognition system on
heavily travelled roads at peak times, according to
Mr Replogle. Giving a price break to car poolers
through a mobile device to monitor vehicle
occupants is another area of opportunity. “This will
pave the way to reprice transport,” says Mr
Replogle, who sees some of these price reductions
going to passengers.
Operators are also developing services to pair
mobile devices with low-speed transit, such as bike
sharing payable by bank card, according to Mr
Cohen. Matching riders and destinations through
mobile devices will help close the gap in ride services
through reasonably priced and convenient transport
from train station to home, he says. In time, the
benefits of more connected transport modes will
cascade across the transportation ecosystem.
As real-time data-driven services take root,
worries over privacy and safety are growing. When
developing new mobile-driven products and
services, 57% of executives surveyed say security is
a top concern and 53% cite safety concerns.
These concerns are most acute with new
ride-sharing schemes; not surprisingly, mobile
technology is helping assuage them. Some
schemes now filter for “friends” in a social network
to ensure privacy in ride-share bookings. In
California, the Public Utilities Commission has
Connecting transit modes: car-sharing
and pooling services as the next
mobility wave 6

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13 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
created a special company status for ride-sharing
schemes with online platforms. So-called
transportation network companies operate under a
new regulatory and legal framework designed to
ensure that drivers have cleared background
checks and are adequately covered by insurance.
In the future, the sector will gradually shift its
efforts from addressing pain points to finding new
revenue-generating opportunities. Operators will
focus on providing more location-based services
and forging partnerships so they can supply
information on the surrounding environment,
including, for example, booking a table at the
nearest Italian restaurant, experts say.
“Transport is moving from tracks and trams to a
customer-service mindset....The benchmark will be
against the best companies in service,” says
Nathan Marsh, director of the performance
improvement practice at Ernst & Young.

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14 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Appendix:
survey
results
Percentages may not
add to 100% owing to
rounding or the ability
of respondents to
choose multiple
responses.
It is currently our top priority
It is currently not our top priority, but it is one of our strategic priorities
It is not a priority today, but it will be within 2 years
It is not a priority today, but it will be within 3 to 5 years
It is not a priority today, and it will not be within 5 years
How does your organisation view mobile technology in relation to your strategy?
(% respondents)
44
39
14
3
0
Government or transportation agency
Public transportation operator
Private transportation operator
Is your organisation a government or transportation agency or a private or public (primarily state-owned)
transportation operator?
(% respondents)
18
21
61

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15 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Increase ridership
Increase passenger satisfaction
Improve passenger safety
Improve network or on-time performance
Reduce environmental impact
Reduce costs
Improve public safety
Increase public revenues
Improve workforce safety and productivity
Reduce congestion
Ensure regulatory compliance
What goals does your organisation aim to achieve by prioritising mobile technology in its strategy?
Please select up to three
(% respondents)
Public transportation operator
44
33
33
28
28
28
22
17
11
6
6
Improve public safety
Improve employment
Reduce pollution
Improve community quality of life
Reduce security threats
Reduce congestion
Attract businesses
Increase tax base
Reduce public expenditures
What goals does your organisation aim to achieve by prioritising mobile technology in its strategy?
Please select up to three
(% respondents)
Government or transportation agency
60
55
40
35
30
20
20
5
5

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16 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Paper
Persaonal computer
Tablet
Smartphone
Feature phone
Terminal agents and personal
Kiosks
Customer-service phone line
What channels do your passengers use for travel planning and management transactions with your organisation now and how
will they use them in the future?
Transaction channels for planning and managing travel
Provide percentage estimates so that each column adds up to 100% (% respondents)
Now
Three years from now
Five years from now
12
8
6
33
30
26
11
14
17
12
19
25
5
5
5
7
5
6
5
5
4
15
14
13
Improve network or on-time performance
Increase passenger satisfaction and loyalty
Reduce costs
Increase revenues
Improve passenger safety
Reduce environmental impact
Improve workforce safety and productivity
Ensure regulatory compliance
What goals does your organisation aim to achieve by prioritising mobile technology in its strategy?
Please select up to three
(% respondents)
Private transportation operator
55
48
48
36
26
22
16
10

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17 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Which mobile services do your passengers use today, and which services do you expect to support in the future?
Mobile feature
Select all that apply in each column (Number of respondents)
Access information on fares,
tickets and services
View and plan routes
View and plan mixed mode routes and trips
Purchase tickets, passes, or packaged trips
Receive alerts on delays and rerouting
Receive assistance with alternative travel and
services in the event of delay or interruptions
Receive alerts about emergencies
Receive instructions in the
event of emergencies
Receive personalised offers
or recommendations
Access information about local
entertainment, retailers and public services
Access information on tickets and
services such as taxis or car services
Reserve, request and pay for
taxis or car services
77
51
46
53
50
45
37
52
41
51
39
47
43
61
48
46
42
46
45
61
54
34
38
42
47
46
38
36
37
35
29
38
38
26
38
35
Now
Two years from now
Five years from now

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How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
What are the greatest challenges that your organisation faces?
Please select up to three in each column
(Number of respondents)
Lack of quality transit information across all
channels (eg, routing, delay, schedule
changes, alternate routes information)
Lack of emergency information
and response or assistance
Poor access to ticketing facilities (eg, kiosks,
windows) or long ticket purchase lines
High ticket prices
Traffic congestion
Frequent schedule changes or delays
Lack of adequate inter-modal connections at
transport hubs, stops and in terminals
Lack of final link to home or destination
(eg, bus, rail or taxi)
Cost of service
Public safety (eg, crime and accidents)
Lawsuits and regulatory fines
50
34
28
30
29
10
25
25
29
24
14
32
31
38
36
28
32
17
27
22
23
20
20
20
10
20
40
10
22
11
6
9
16
Obstacles to fast journey
Obstacles to easy journey
Obstacles to reasonably priced journey
Well above average
for the industry
Somewhat above
average
Average/On par
with peers
Somewhat below
average
Well below average
for the industry
Lack of quality transit information across all channels (eg, routing, delay, schedule changes, alternate routes information)
Lack of emergency information and response/assistance
Lack of or difficult to access ticketing facilities (kiosks, windows) or long ticket purchase lines
High ticket prices
Traffic congestion
Frequent planned schedule changes or delays
Frequent unplanned schedule changes or delays
Lack of adequate inter-modal connections at transport hubs, stops and in terminals
Lack of final link to home or destination (eg, bus, rail or taxi)
How would you rate your organisation’s ability to resolve the following issues?
Please select one in each row
(% respondents)
35 29 28 7 1
23 37 24 13 3
19 29 34 11 7
18 25 40 11 6
18 27 35 11 9
22 29 29 12 7
19 27 36 12 6
17 32 37 11 3
19 31 35 10 4

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How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Consumer resistance to accessing travel information from mobile devices
Lack of a desktop computer
Lack of a mobile device
Inconsistent quality of experience across all channels (eg, desktop, mobile devices, kiosks, in-person)
Difficulties understanding information that is provided
Comprehensive information is not available online and mobile
Difficulties delivering information to travellers with special needs
Real-time information not available
Public safety (eg, on platforms)
Information not presented in a simple, mobile-accessible manner
What are the main obstacles your passengers face in getting easy and rapid access to travel information?
Please select the top two
(% respondents)
32
29
22
22
21
15
14
11
10
10
What are your main technical obstacles in delivering data via mobile devices today, five years from now, and five years ago?
Obstacle
Please select up to three in each column
(Number of respondents)
Now
Five years from now
Five years ago
Insufficient network
coverage or bandwidth
Lack of onboard Wi-Fi
Difficulties integrating data
and systems across many
organisations
Difficulties supporting all
device platforms and types
Limited smartphone
and tablet usage
Data security and privacy
Don’t know
57
29
43
45
23
34
36
56
33
31
37
31
41
24
44
29
37
33
8
18
18

21.
20 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Where do you see the best opportunities for the use of mobile technologies today, and five years from now?
Please select up to three in each column
(Number of respondents) Now
Five years from now
Providing commuter/travellers
information while travelling
Providing commuters/travellers
information between travel
Providing commuters/travellers with
the ability to make purchases
Increasing network availability
inside vehicles
Joining up different transport
modes across a city
Offering location-based data on
traffic and congestion
Offering location-based services
Smart routing (eg, providing passengers with
information on faster or less costly routes)
Analysis of travel behaviour
Targeted personalised offers for products and services
(eg, resulting in direct revenues or third-party commissions and fees)
57
32
30
25
36
34
35
28
27
28
30
28
16
26
26
37
16
23
10
22
Security
Safety
Privacy
Competition from new players
Price erosion
Data regulation
Deterioration of existing business
Other regulation
As new opportunities for product and service delivery through mobile technology arise, what concerns are also rising for you?
Please select up to three
(Number of respondents)
57
53
41
29
24
21
18
5
Transportation operator (such as airlines, trains, ferries, rail, buses or taxis)
Highway and roads administrator
Service provider (such as the American Automobile Association)
Rental car, truck, or two-to-three wheeler supplier
What is your primary industry
(% respondents)
88
10
16
12
Yes
No
Are you familiar with mobile technology trends in
transportation?
(% respondents)
100
0

22.
21 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
United States
United Kingdom
Brazil
Argentina
Africa
Germany
Mexico
Russia
France
Commonwealth Independent States (CIS)
Austria
Italy
Spain
Switzerland
North Africa
In which country/region are you personally based?
(% respondents)
28
10
8
7
6
6
6
5
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation's global annual revenues in
US dollars?
(% respondents)
34
16
23
21
7
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
CMO/Marketing director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?
(% respondents)
6
21
3
16
7
1
17
3
6
14
6
Customer service
Finance
General management
Human resources
Information and research
IT
Legal
Marketing and sales
Risk
R&D
Strategy and business development
Other
What are your main functional roles?
Please select up to three.
(% respondents)
28
21
36
7
16
34
1
20
5
9
28
8
EMEA
North America
LATAM
Africa/CIS
In which region are you based?
(Number of respondents)
40
32
24
20

23.
22 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2014
How mobility is transforming passenger transport: clearing the way for more liveable cities
Whilst every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this
information, neither The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. nor the
sponsor of this report can accept any responsibility or liability
for reliance by any person on this white paper or any of the
information, opinions or conclusions set out in the white paper.
About our Sponsor
As the world’s leading provider of enterprise application
software, SAP delivers products and services that help
accelerate business innovation for its more than 183,000
customers in more than 120 countries.

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