Future Focus |
Ihave three interrelated hopes for positive
change in transportation over the next 25
years. Firstly, that the trend will resume for
annual reductions in traffic fatalities, which
has stalled since 2010. While zero fatalities may
not be realistically achievable, it is realistic to
apply Vision Zero thinking to ensure all sources
of risk are mitigated wherever practical. The
widespread deployment of vehicle connectivity
and highly/fully automated vehicles may be the
trigger that restores this trajectory of casualty
reduction. The availability of AVs (and the new
business models they enable) should also lead to
a reduction in vehicle size and mass, bringing
improvements in both safety and efficiency.
Secondly, I hope the true environmental
impact of transportation is recognized and
addressed. Over this period, we shall see the
withdrawal of combustion engine vehicles for
sale, replaced by electric vehicles. This will bring
improved urban air quality. However, we must
also consider the full environmental impact of
vehicle production, thinking about embedded
carbon, material extraction, component
transportation, energy efficiency and
recyclability. Recognizing the full environmental
effects should therefore be accompanied by
support in regulations and infrastructure design
for lower impact transport modes.
Thirdly, that in addition to environmental
concerns, the ethics, equity, diversity and
inclusiveness of transportation are recognized as
fundamental in the decision-making process for
transport regulations, planning and investments.
In hindsight, many transport planning decisions
have been guided by limited considerations that
fail to encompass wider and sometimes more
significant issues that have resulted in longlasting,
unintended consequences. Examples
from US history show how decisions to build
highways through lower income communities
brought decades of disruption and decay. Poorer
communities have tended to suffer from the
effects of noise and air pollution brought by
Rear view mirror
Traffic Technology International September/October 2019
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.c 014 om
th
2014
We celebrated our 20th
anniversary with a bumper
edition featuring an exclusive
interview with Bill Ford
2015
The possibilities of drones
in traffic and asset
management were beginning
to be explored in 2015
2016
The ‘Father of MaaS’ Sampo
Hietanen set out his vision for
the future of mobility three
years ago
2017
Just two years ago 5G was
just being tested, today
commercial services are
beginning to be deployed
2018
Last year the possibilities
of blockchain in traffic
management were a big
talking point
heavy traffic, disproportionately. Clearly, we
must learn from these examples.
While the internet will increasingly facilitate
the provision of services, physical mobility will
remain fundamental to citizens and businesses,
providing access to education, employment,
healthcare, social activities and democracy.
Equity of access to mobility in order to capitalize
on opportunities for prosperity across
dimensions of socioeconomic status is therefore
vital to creating a fairer society. Possible routes
to realizing equitable access to transportation
services include the provision of universal basic
mobility services, where local public transport
services are made free at the point of use for
communities (which has been successfully
trialed in several cities across Europe), and road
user charging, where peak-time usage of limited
road space is charged appropriately to manage
traffic flow and where the revenues generated
are used to support mobility of poorer travelers.
Finally, the thread that links all three of these
prospective changes is data. Understanding
where the problems lie, where to focus the
solutions, how to simulate and model the impact
of those solutions, how to evaluate their success
and wider contextual factors can all be
underpinned by the appropriate sharing and
analysis of data. Therefore, what we should be
doing now to help deliver these positive changes
is to encourage (and even mandate) the secure
sharing of mobility relevant, anonymized data.
The availability of this data (and the insights
that can be gained from it) will help large
businesses to refine operating models and target
R&D investments, will provide opportunities for
innovative SMEs to develop new data-led
commercial activities and will help public sector
bodies to develop a realistic vision for future
mobility and to define appropriate regulations
and funding programs to help them achieve it.
Professor Nick Reed, founder, Reed Mobility,
www.reed-mobility.co.uk
Q: What do you hope
will be the biggest
positive change in
transportation in
25 years’ time? And
what should we be
doing now to help
bring about this
change?
Possible routes
to realizing
equitable access to
transportation services
include universal basic
mobility services,
where local public
transport services
are made free at
the point of use
Professor Nick Reed,
founder, Reed Mobility
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.c
/www.reed-mobility.co.uk
