Technology advancement is rapidly bringing changes to public transportation. In the current year 2018, rapid adoption of on-demand service platforms to manage transportation services is in trend and its urge is going to increase in years to come.

The advent of on demand apps for transport services management, using technology to make the traveling experience smooth and upgrading security, are the leading trends for public transportation in 2018 and beyond.

Public transportation agencies and their supplying vendors are taking notice of the trends in Public Transit Services and developing similar technology for an intra-city public transport system that can run on preset routes.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is Becoming More Prevalent:

The technology trends in Public Transit Services in transportation are quickly gaining cache in the transit industry worldwide is called Mobility as a Service (MaaS). MaaS is the utilization of app by consumers to travel from point A to B by leveraging various transportation modes according to their subscribed packages. Several agencies have considered adopting the MaaS model. This year, experts from several regions see MaaS gaining more momentum in the industry. In Northern Europe, Maas is in use that provides an excellent experience to customers with its promise of greater convenience and effectiveness that enables sharing and personalization through smartphones and IoT connectivity. While in the UK, there is an increasing focus on the integration of transport modes towards a MaaS model.

In Helsinki, Finland, people can utilize a mobile app called “Whim” to book and pay for traveling via various modes of public and private transportation such as bus, train, taxi, car share or bike ride. A traveler can enter his destination, a preferred method of transit, or other relevant information, and enjoy the public transit ride. Travelers can pay in advance for the service as a part of a monthly subscription or pay on-the-go through different payment methods. Various companies are providing customized solutions for booking a car, taxi, etc., People can travel and make the payment online with the available in-app credits, cash or credit/debit card.

Many enterprises are aiming to access the MaaS concept to achieve the goal of technology trends in Public Transit Services. Popular cities like Paris, Las Vegas, Denver and Los Angeles are controlling various local versions of MaaS that consider real-time travel conditions, user preferences, time management, cost reduction, and seamless mobile payments.

Driverless buses:

Driverless buses will cut labor cost, which has diverted the attention of public transit managers across the globe. Various companies are working out on this concept and planning to offer their initial driverless bus version in the next year. Mark Joseph, a global chief development officer for Transdev has prepared his company of self-sufficient shuttles that will begin operating on roads by the end of this year.

Furthermore, self-sufficient shuttles will become more prevalent on corporate campuses and airports in 2018. However, liability issues for potential accidents and injuries still need to be worked out. In 2017, the US National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new federal guidelines for automated driving systems for safety. These guidelines show that for the time being, the federal government is moving forward with the guided manufacturers and state governments in this fast-evolving technology.

Autonomous Vehicles: A future trend in the Industry:

News about autonomous vehicles never seemed to end last year. It is predicted that we will be hearing more about them in the next year as the next year will bring autonomous vehicles into plain view and will be used primarily on closed-circuit routes and not on straight public roads.

The survey reports show that public transport users are becoming much more demanding and willing to pay higher prices for more convenient services. Most of them are under the age of 40.

The second major area for innovation in the coming year will be technology improvements according to trends in Public Transit Services to make use of public transportation in urban areas.

Nathaniel “Nat” Ford, CEO of Jacksonville Transport Authority and new chairman of the American Public Transportation Association, mentioned in a speech:

Our industry is evolving at a pace, never seen before. Moving away from current models, to one where there’s a synergy between different modes of transportation, different technologies, and different providers. Technology is being developed every day that is disruptive to our industry. Things such as autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence, to name a few.

The already existing way of transportation via a bus and metro usage in the United States has decreased over the past five years, and transit chief is looking to change their business model using these new technologies to compete in the new mobility marketplace. Transit companies are aiming to adopt new mobility ecosystems. These include peer-to-peer car clubs, on demand privately provided bus rides, TNCs, cars/bike sharing and more.

Eventually, improving transit security is a fast-growing need recognized by developed countries who are aiming to achieve the trending goals. City transit systems are purchasing the latest security systems to monitor and respond quickly to new traditional crime and potential terrorist activity. These objectives are achieved using the security systems that include monitored cameras on buses, trains and in transportation stations, with facial recognition and object identification software solutions. Gas detection and other crime prevention technologies are quietly being implemented in subway stations, and significant data usage is being brought into effective action to better track transit customers.

As it turns out,

Public transportation companies are adopting new technologies for providing riding services. This approach is quickly changing as millennials prefer to travel together to cities via the latest rising services and get rid of their cars. The technology enables new ways to unify mobility options. Latest modes of traveling are being invented and quickly adopted including shared ride services, self-driving cars, and buses. These changes will be increasing in the coming year.

We at Cab Startup, provides state-of-the-art systems for the transport industry to allow traveling via online booking systems. No matter, whatever business you are running, a taxi business, or any other transport business, we provide customized systems to cater all your transportation needs.