How cities can win back public transport ridership by incentivising carbon neutral behaviour

Persuading people to use public and shared mobility rather than their cars is a bigger challenge than ever in light of the pandemic. In addition to the loss of trust and fear of infection when travelling on public transport,  new  habits favouring home working have a significant impact on public transport ridership and ticket revenues, as well as the real estate market. Budget shortfalls force public transport operators to reduce services and fill the gap through shared mobility services providers. This is a challenge, but also an outstanding chance for cities to incentivise carbon neutral behaviour in the “new normal” to achieve net zero carbon emission goals.

Behaviour change with immediate impact

Behaviour change can have an immediate impact on today’s societal challenges such as pollution, congestion and noise. To change a behaviour, one must first identify the behaviour that shall be changed. Travel surveys of households lack the level of detail and tend to be inaccurate. Axon Vibe has developed a Smart Mobility Platform which helps public transport operators and authorities understand their mobile app users’ mobility behaviour by automatically detecting all of their journeys with public, private and shared modes of transport by analysing their smartphone sensor data. Interpreting location data helps predict the specific needs of individual users in real-time.

Frequent places, such as user’s home and work locations, as well as their commuting patterns are automatically identified. Frequently used commuter services are automatically monitored, and the user receives personalised and smart alerts, including alternative routes and/or modes-of-transport, in case of disruptions or if crowds affect his/her journey. Axon Vibe’s intent-driven, smart and integrated assistance across public, private and shared mobility helps to rebuild trust in public transport.

Incentivise “green travel” financed through sustainability funds

Axon Vibe’s Smart Mobility Platform helps public transport operators and authorities identify specific users who, in the right context, are receptive to changing their behaviour to travel with sustainable modes-of-transport. The platform enables innovative contextual campaigns that can shift citizens from using their private car to using public transport and incentivise sustainable transportation. Communicating to citizens via the public transport authority’s mobile app helps city authorities to change travel behaviour immediately and achieve zero carbon emission goals faster.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in significant budget shortfall for public transport operators and authorities. Promoting and incentivising sustainable travel through Axon Vibe’s Smart Mobility Platform helps operators and authorities access sustainability funds, which are mandated to invest in innovative technologies that help achieve sustainable development goals. During the pandemic, New York’s MTA launched a multi-modal app for the essential workers using Axon Vibe’s technology to keep New York City’s critical functions running. These forward-looking agencies are now going further and building inter-modal capabilities through private sector partnerships with the goal of driving more ridership into the transit system by applying highly contextual behaviour change campaigns.

Connect eco-systems to boost local businesses in the “new normal”

Public transport users have millions of potential touchpoints with local businesses in cities. In Tokyo, Axon Vibe’s Smart Mobility Platform connects the passenger’s travel experiences with relevant local retail offerings of East Japan Railways Lifestyle Division. Customer satisfaction is increased by offering free vouchers (for coffee, sandwiches or even the use of co-working spaces) as an apology for delays or to motivate commuters to travel off-peak. Bringing more passengers to the shops supports the local economy. A commission on the generated basket size helps public transport operator and authorities generate complementary revenue beyond transportation and compensate the governmental budget shortfall due to Covid.

Data-driven decision and policy making in the Smart City

Cities and countries leverage data insights captured in compliance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) through Axon Vibe’s Smart Mobility Platform to increase the efficiency of the rail and road transportation infrastructure as well as third-party shared mobility services (e.g. bike, scooter, taxi). Citizens’ behaviour patterns serve as fundamental baseline data for the Smart City and enables the city authorities to make data-driven decisions and enact policies that achieve the UN sustainable development goals.

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Photo: © Brett Critchley  | Dreamstime.com