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30th January 2006

Government and transport sector urged to change attitudes of travelling public

If society is to reap the benefits of reduced congestion and pollution then the transport sector, with backing from Government, needs to challenge the public's attitudes when it comes to planning journeys, rather than simply thrusting new enabling and billing technologies upon them. The travelling public, especially young people, need to be empowered and successfully sold the benefits of planning an 'Intelligent Journey' - one that fully considers different modes of transport and a range of factors from the environmental impact through to cost and time.

This conclusion comes from a report, titled 'The Intelligent Journey - Putting the Jigsaw Together', which will be published tomorrow by Arthur D. Little and Cambridge Consultants. The report summarises a recent industry leader workshop, attended by senior decision-makers from across the automotive and transport sector, such as policy representatives, road operators, automotive suppliers, communications companies and roadside equipment manufacturers. This broad range of stakeholders enabled the workshop to consider a myriad of different issues and arrive at two further key conclusions:

• In order to make the Intelligent Journey a reality, a complex value chain needs to be created, involving all sectors of the transport industry from Central Government to transport providers and manufacturers. Given the numerous players and their conflicting requirements, this value chain is unlikely to emerge naturally. Instead, Government needs to create the policy framework in which this value chain can not only assemble itself but also, as one delegate put it, "work out a way to make money". However, Government should avoid mandating technical solutions and let the industry do what it does best.
• Although it is difficult to predict which technologies will deliver the Intelligent Journey, the assembled industry leaders felt that the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones meant that they would play an essential role. SMS traffic updates are becoming commonplace and so is paying the London congestion charge by text message. "The mobile phone is in pole position in the services it provides and is already in most peoples' pockets," reasoned one delegate.

"The industry needs to promote the benefits of planning a journey to the travelling public because not many people bother to think far enough ahead and only start thinking about alternatives when they join the back of the traffic queue. They need to realise the benefits to their personal lives, in terms of saving money and making better use of their time. Plus there are enormous environment benefits," commented Dr Peter Bell of Cambridge Consultants.

James Catmur of Arthur D. Little added: "The recent emergence of the Satellite Navigation market is encouraging, as it suggests that people are embracing new technologies and a more efficient approach to planning travel. We now need to plan how we can exploit this interest and create a viable framework for travelling more intelligently."

The report can be requested free of charge by clicking here.

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