Expert Panel Outline

Getting to Seamless Passenger Travel
 
Wednesday, 26 May 2010 - 14.00-15.30 - Hall 2
Panel Summary and Conclusions
 
Slides
 
The session discussed models for delivering more seamless urban passenger travel and what innovations were most needed to improve services. The moderated discussion amongst panellists and the audience focused on the following issues:
 
  • What new service models are necessary?
  • What emerging technologies and information platforms provide opportunities for more seamless travel?
  • What level of coordination is required, and who are the key actors (modes, levels of governments, service provides)?
  • Who should pay for enhanced personal mobility? How is revenue allocation among mobility service providers best handled?
  • What is the role for public policy in this area?
  • Are current regulatory approaches adequate to address these new services or are innovative regulatory frameworks required?
 
Chair
 
  • Yves Crozet, Professor, Université de Lyon 2, France
 
Panellists
 
  • Paul Brubaker, Senior Director, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems
  • Rita Daguillard, Director, Office of Research Management, Federal Transit Administration, United States
  • Florence Diss, Manager, Strategic Partner Development, Google France
  • Pat Jacobsen, Corporate Director, New Flyer and former CEO, TransLink, Canada
  • Chang Kyun Kim, Director, Transportation Operations and Information Centre, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korea
  • Dominique Laousse, Director, Prospective and Innovative Design, RATP, Paris
 
Background
 
Seamless, convenient and comfortable door-to-door travel, along with increases in travel speed, explains the tremendous success of the automobile over other mobility options. It delivers easy access to employment, social and leisure activities and continues to drive demand for auto mobility throughout the world.

Despite these features, citizens and governments are questioning the future role of cars in urban areas as roads fill up and travel speeds stagnate or decline. Fuel prices are projected to increase and concerns over environmental and safety impacts have become more pronounced. Dependence on automobiles has also excluded many citizens from the mobility that the rest of society enjoys, including children, a growing number of seniors and those with disabilities.

Can we provide more compelling and durable models for urban passenger travel than the status quo? In the future will we buy mobility by the kilometre, transferring seamlessly from mode to mode or will we still make primarily mono-modal trips? Are the benefits of ubiquitous multimodal mobility strong enough to outweigh the costs of trying to provide it?

The challenge is great and will require overcoming three types of barriers:
 
  • Physical barriers – these include reducing the friction of mode transfers, reducing time losses, increasing system interoperability and implementing area-wide and virtual ticketing. It will also require overcoming specific hurdles for the young, as well as disabled and older people.
  • Information barriers related to travel opportunities, schedules and systems operation. Here new types of information platforms, services and integration will play an important role.
  • Behavioural barriers facing the uptake and commercial success of new mobility models. Entrenched travel habits are hard to change.
The session aims to identify what strategies can help overcome these barriers.
 
Slides
 
 
Related Documents