By John Challen

Partnerships have always been an effective way to bring about change or improvement in all areas of industry and now one organisation has focused that spirit of collaboration on transport. Connected Places Catapult helps high-potential businesses scale up and succeed in transport and construction, building partnerships between companies and organisations to accelerate innovation.

“Through accelerators, competitions, trials and industry partnerships, we lower barriers to entry and enable solutions to be tested in real-world environments,” explains Steve Pyer, director of highways and integrated transport at the Catapult. “Transport systems can be slow to change because they are complex, highly regulated and built around long-term assets and contracts, yet people’s needs, travel patterns, technology and the climate are changing quickly. Innovation helps to close that gap by bringing in fresh thinking and enabling new solutions to be tested safely and adopted faster.

Funding for the future

Two examples of this fresh thinking are the Catapult’s work with the Department for Transport (DfT) to help businesses address transport challenges and encourage innovation. The Catapult delivers both the DfT’s Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) programme and its Freight Innovation Fund (FIF) programme.

These initiatives support innovators at different stages of development, giving businesses the opportunity to test solutions in real transport environments, generate credible evidence and progress towards commercial adoption.

“We also deliver the accelerator for the National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat), helping to develop solutions that enable everyone to travel with greater confidence and independence,” says Pyer. “Across these programmes and more, the common priority is turning innovation into practical improvements at scale, creating transport systems that are more accessible, efficient and sustainable, and places that work better for the people who live in them.”

Real-world results

There are several case studies that demonstrate how improvements through innovation and collaboration can create better places.

“Connected Places Catapult provides the foundations and reduces barriers for others to succeed,” says Pyer. “This can be seen in our work with movement intelligence specialist Rhevia, which has been supported through the TRIG and FIF programmes. Rhevia is now working with local authorities and private companies, combining radar data and AI technology to understand how people and vehicles move through complex environments. Its technology processes movement data alongside contextual information such as the weather, lighting and bus schedules, allowing clients to identify the root causes of danger. Rhevia’s technology provides evidence for decision makers to justify investments and prioritise safer road layouts and environments.”

Other CPC success stories include ‘Hello Lamp Post’, which is supported through the organisation’s Connected Airport Living Lab programme at Glasgow Airport, and Createc, supported through its Station Innovation Zone at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

From isolation to connection

The role of transport in improving the lives of communities as well as individuals should not be underestimated, states Pyer. “Transport is fundamental to everyday life – it connects people to education, employment, healthcare, shops, green spaces, leisure, friends and family. When services

are affordable, accessible and inclusive, they reduce social isolation, improve quality of life and enable disabled people and others who may not be able to drive travel with greater independence.”

Improved connectivity can strengthen local economies by bringing people into town centres, widening access to opportunity and supporting regional prosperity, whether that’s in urban or rural areas.

“By giving people practical alternatives to private car use and designing networks around different needs,” says Pyer, “transport can help create healthier communities, thriving local economies and better places for everyone.”

• Find out more about Connected Places Catapult here.

• Read CIHT’s report on the role of data and AI in achieving transport decarbonisation here.