By Tom Austin-Morgan

Many in the industry believe that by making all forms of travel more integrated (the idea behind multimodal transportation) will get more people on public transport, bikes and feet – and out of cars – and thereby help decarbonise the industry. 

“London probably offers a good starting point of an effective widespread multimodal transportation system,” explains Justin Ward, Head of Policy and Technical Practice at CIHT. “London network’s integration of air, rail, road and river transportation is impressive globally.” Yet, move out of the capital city and the aspiration of a London-style transport system across other major cities in the UK is firmly on the political agenda.

“Rural areas are more of a challenge, not only [for] multimodal transport but [also] for public transport. In an interview on Radio 4, I said digital responsive transport (DRT) offered a good solution to public transport in rural areas particularly if DRT is connected to fixed bus and rail services.

“The digital in the ‘demand responsive’ demonstrates technology is a key factor in multimodal transport. If you can offer accessible bus services, there is a potential to unlock wider integration of multimodal transport. You must walk or wheel to get to bus stops, and bus services integrate into rail services – all steps to decarbonise our transport system.”

Pay as far as you go

The winner of CIHT’s Technology and Innovation award this year was from First Bus for their Tap On, Tap Off (TOTO) Ticketing Technology. The judges said that this project was an inclusive solution that considers the amount of confusion people experience with bus fares and presents them with something reassuring and fair.

They were impressed with the amount of work that went into developing the project and thought that it showed potential to be used across several modes of transport. 

TOTO Ticketing Technology lets customers tap their payment card on a machine when they board and disembark the bus, which automatically calculates the price of their journey based on the distance they travelled. Using an innovative broker technology, it allows tap data from all three local operators to be reconciled into a single capped contactless ticketing system (cEMV) day or weekly fare for the customer. This development was the first of its kind in the UK, providing a foundation for further technical roll out across the country.

How then can operators link multiple services together into an effective mobility as a service (MaaS) system? The winner of CIHT’s Collaboration Award offers an example.

Solent Transport’s Zone's Breeze app involved over 30 partners, across a range of different sectors, and the approach to collaboration was made inclusive by engaging with end-users and ensuring everyone using the service is considered. Efficiencies were impressive and this delivered benefits across a broad range of areas.

Ward concludes: “With a combination of political willingness and technological development, progress can and will be made to implementing widescale integrated multimodal transportation.”

Discover what CIHT are asking of the government regarding the future of transport.

Newsletter image: ferries on the River Thames, London; credit: Shutterstock.