This is a good place to start from as the relationship with customers is, it is likely, going to evolve considerably over the next number of years: the implications of which are significant. 

A challenge for the transport sector is to ensure that in enabling transport decarbonisation, and particularly in supporting behavioural change, that this vision from the sector does not conflict with a vision from the customer. The transition to net zero, although presenting opportunities for the transport sector, also poses significant challenges. For the roads sector, this requires the ability of road administrations to deliver ‘roads by consent’ a phrase used by Mel Clarke from National Highways. 

One of the biggest challenges is the behaviour change that we need to see for climate change might not be what people want to do according to Lewis Brencher from Transport for Wales, Director of Communications and Engagement.  

There is also a need to frame the debate in the right way about the roads sector role within the climate debate. 

“Road networks are part of the solution and not part of the problem to the climate crisis…we need to reframe customer perspectives in light of this” Andy Falleyn, Welsh Government: 

Mel Clarke said that ‘roads are going to play a key role in meeting the carbon challenge, but we do need to think from a multi-modal perspective and from a demographic perspective.' Younger people are not in a rush to take up driving lessons, as Mel said her 17-year-old niece does not seem to be in a rush to getting a license.  

Engagement now is important, and this will need to be about understanding the underlying values and needs of future users of transport systems. People’s values do not change, getting under the surface and finding out what really matters to people is really important. 

‘We do need a more human centered design approach, starting by asking ‘what do customers need’ and then moving forward from that perspective’ Aston Brand, Atkins 

Deborah Sims, CIHT President highlighted that our needs change depending on the context, getting that balance right is important. 

‘The future will not be about building new roads, but about maintaining, using, and optimizing what we have and will be about engaging customers to be part of this journey. There is a need to think about journeys across different road networks, across both local and strategic roads as customers are not concerned with administrative boundaries. 

We will have to make changes for the greater good – it could be for safety; it could be for the environment. The biggest challenge is how we do that, and design that by consent.’ Mel Clarke, National Highways. 

A major theme of transport day at COP-26 was on electric vehicles and for cars and light good vehicles progress is being made. However currently getting goods to services means there is a lot to do on freight – we have, as was said at the roundtable:  to think about how we move around freight, and the rail sector might play a bigger role in this, with EV vehicles offering later stage of deliveries. 

We know we need to change travel behaviour. But, according to Tony Meehan: to do this might mean a different regulatory, pricing, or institutional structure. As service providers this changes the paradigm of what customer service means. For instance, as a response to net zero, road pricing will need to be put in place. If you put a charge on road use, then there could be a greater expectation on what customers expect. 

“We must understand the customer segments – their thoughts and attitudes better than before. This will have an impact on the value proposition”. Tony Meehan, Atkins 

There is also a need to consider equity: as Mel reflected on lessons that National Highways have identified when introducing EV charging points - the feedback from disabled users has been poor and that the charging points are less helpful than petrol station refilling devices. There is again a need for that human centered design that does not exclude people, and this is a significant thing, according to Mel one in five journeys on the National Highways network is made with someone who has a disability.  

Looking further down the road, a variety of visions were considered with one being a shift from car ownership to shared ownership. From a systems perspective this means one could see different ways of things operating:  from a customer perspective this changes things radically. The customer becomes less the travelling individual. The customer becomes big manufactures of mobility service providers. The customer of today, could well be not the customer of tomorrow.  

More so one could envisage standards of roads being developed to support connected and autonomous vehicles. 

Mel Clarke said: ‘The whole system approach is important [looking ahead to] 2030-2050 – it is about opportunities: if you can move to the connected and autonomous space then you can optimize flow management, have naked roads because the dashboard tells you, you can improve safety. But how to get there is about delivering that whole network by consent. It is a really interesting conversation.’ 

Ruth Kinsella from Co-Creation Partnership highlighted that customer needs are a priority, as public money is being spent for public needs. 

“We have lost sight of this (of a customer focus) by focusing on the asset rather than focusing on the people and communities that we are serving” Ruth Kinsella 

John Paterson, Technical Director of Atkins said he has been working in the customer area of highways for almost a decade and has seen significant progress over this period but there remains a constant need to improve. John reflected that the conversation around asset management is anchored much more on the wider benefits that transport assets provide to customers and communities.  

He drew on lessons from work with the Welsh Government, where efforts to build customer thinking into asset management is happening; and similarly, with Transport Scotland where customer care is a key focus. Local authorities are also embedding customer service as a key objective within major opportunities coming to market, plus procurement of digital systems is frequently linked to a desire for an “Amazon experience” for their customers. Also, UK approaches will be shared with a global audience and vice versa, through the new PIARC working group covering customer experience. 

The future will be one of further evolution, and part of this is thinking about, particularly those coming from embedding the advantages that technology brings. Tony Meehan said: ‘We are doing a piece of work on demand responsive transport about altering a bus route. Then you can use AI to optimize the service going forward. You are buying mobility in a better way going forward. The app informing people about when the bus is going to turn up then that helps match expectations. A pan-modal, multi-modal perspective is important. With people working flexibly now means travel patterns are changing – as such there is a need to have information on this – the demand for this will increase. 

But before we get to the future, the current shifts in transport policy will have the ability to nudge our behaviour. 

‘With the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone now in place in London, I will not drive going forward, so now I am getting the train. Those little nudges can ultimately make a big change.’ Deborah Sims, CIHT President 

For the transport sector there is a clear need to balance the behaviour change aspect with customer centric design. Progress has been made in recent years but given the scale of future challenges adopting a customer centric mindset will be vital to achieve the changes required - around decarbonistation and technological innovation for example. Health and safety became everyone’s’ responsibility over time, similarly within the transport profession there will be a need to ensure that a culture of focusing on the customer likewise becomes everyone’s responsibility. 

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