The key themes of the IT-TRANS Conference
2018 the Conference revolved around seven main themes which grasp the current priorities, challenges and opportunities of the sector:
2018 the Conference revolved around seven main themes which grasp the current priorities, challenges and opportunities of the sector:
The API Economy is becoming a reality for public transport thanks to the exponential increase in data. This opens up possibilities for the entire running of public transport from operations and maintenance to, most importantly, the possibility to focus on customer experience. But restructuring around APIs and opening them up for developers requires a different mind-set, whereby for example the customer journey is redefined through APIs rather than traditional touch points. This implies a massive cultural change in the public transport industry. Public transport professionals need to get a grip on this, and IT‑TRANS is the place to get up to speed.
The expectations of our increasingly digitised customers, who are seeking a seamless experience, are driving us to rethink the services we offer from the perspective of the customer. The possibilities opening up by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer customers targeted products and Augmented Reality (AR) to enhance the user experience are truly pioneering. Subsequently, the increasing volumes of useful and useable data on and from our customers is changing how we manage customer relations. These topics will be key at IT-TRANS.
New mobility trends are all largely possible thanks to developments in IT: from on-demand mobility to MaaS and the autonomous vehicle, the technology is moving fast. Along with getting an insight into current developments, IT-TRANS will ponder issues of governance and strategy about how such trends and services are integrated into traditional public transport companies.
There is no doubt that Account Based Ticketing (ABT) is the future. It offers a flexibility which can respond to modern travellers’ needs, allows integration with other systems and services and can work with a variety of payment methods such as mobile, EMV (EMVco, the standard for contactless payment developed by the major credit card companies) and more. However migrating to ABT is a complex process. IT-TRANS will seek to clarify the issues involved, allowing attendees to make the right choices in their journey to ABT.
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Digitalisation is also impacting the daily operations and maintenance of our traditional public transport services. Improved efficiency and condition-based maintenance are some of the clear advantages of a more digitised approach. Predictive maintenance in particular has seen a recent spurt of pilots and trials which IT-TRANS will explore for lessons learned and key takeaways.
In November 2016, San Francisco’s Muni ticketing system was hit by a ransomware attack. In May 2017 Deutsche Bahn was among the thousands of companies affected by the WannaCry ransomware. Until now malicious cyber-attacks on public transport have been few and far between, however as public transport networks become increasingly digitised and reliant on IT, IT-TRANS will address how to protect systems from cyber threats.
It is only a matter of time before autonomous vehicles – trams, trains, buses, and cars – will be integrated into the systems of public transport. Driverless vehicles pave the way for additional services and make public transport more attractive. They have the potential to reduce accidents and ease congestion. The European Commission estimates the market potential of automated driving to be worth dozens of billions of euros annually, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. They have the potential to answer the question of the “first and last mile”.
The IT-TRANS Exhibition offers the opportunity to discuss the options, test driverless vehicles and find answers to the technological challenges involved.