6 Thoughts from The Great Transport Hack

We hosted our first ever virtual Fluxx Exchange event; The Great Transport Hack. We gathered cross-industry experts in a virtual room to talk openly about the future of mobility. When we first planned the event the world was in a different place and a lot has changed, so here’s how our thinking has evolved.

COVID-19 is changing the world as we know it; and it’s having a huge impact on the transport sector. Previously, transport was one of the biggest categories of household spend. Now, as most of the world is on lockdown or limiting travel, our spend and behaviours are changing. In fact we’re reassessing most parts of our lives; from relationships, to our environmental impact to how we connect people and places. With public transport limited and huge portions of the global population stuck at home — now is an appropriate (albeit unexpected) time to reflect on our transport systems and act to create the future of transport.

This article framed our thinking before COVID-19 hit. There’s some great content in there, focusing on technology, trends and mobility as a service — all still relevant to the future. At our virtual event, the discussion shifted, from technology as the disruptor in the future of transport to the new challenges; changing behaviour, operation, and processes.

What’s on the horizon for transport?

1. Decisions and actions are happening fast, and we’re seeing collaboration on a large scale. Never before have the government or organisational bodies banded together to work as quickly and effectively as they are now; “We’re better at joining the dots, and not only getting the right people in the room, but making stuff happen quickly”, said Innovation Lead at BEIS. New pathways are being weaved into the organisational structure systems to deliver and test quickly. Health and Transportation systems are better connected to businesses (check out how startup Handl are supporting the NHS), and no longer is perfection the enemy of the good. This is a positive sign for future decisions and one that can only benefit changes in the transport sector.
2. We’re paying more attention to green choices and our carbon footprint. Experts say the global health crisis is reducing carbon emissions and highlighting how quickly leaders can take action on the advice of scientists to protect human wellbeing. This will have an impact on the travel industry and people’s choices. It’s already changing and as from today, 80% of the world’s planes will be grounded. Obviously there’s a hugely positive environmental impact, but there’s also a worry that social distancing will mean people will be weary of sharing rides and using communal transport. Will the on demand travel system be impacted by new concerns around safety, security and sterilisation of a system?
3. Environmental efforts are being enforced on a national level. In January this year, France adopted a new law. Cars emitting CO2 above a certain threshold will be subject to a €20,000 penalty. If that’s enough to make the switch to green, check out Electric Miles. It’s an automated charging schedule, so users save on bills, are matched to green energy and it will even make you money through your energy assets.
4. Customer-centric propositions for the win. This week, startup Cazoo exceeded all expectations by raising over £116million in funding. Built on the customer-first principle, the platform is disrupting the way used cars are bought and sold online. With a personalised handover service, money back guarantee and over 150 (human) checks per car, Cazoo is set to totally transform the £82billion car industry.
5. Public and private come together. Everyone agrees there’s a fundamental need to integrate public and private transportation, and bring a collaborative, user-centered approach to these challenges. The Department for Transport is currently working with manufacturers and businesses, building the link between policy, legislation and insurance to drive the behaviour change and linking up people and authorities. Check out The Collaboration Handbook from the London Borough of Croydon, Thames Water, SGN, Fluxx and Atkins about the coordinated delivery of utility infrastructure.
6. Mobility as a Service is the first step to multi-model sustainable personalised transport systems. There was agreement in the virtual room that MaaS could be the future. How to turn theory into practice? Fluxx and Atkins ran Zume, an on-demand commuter shuttle service in Cambridge, to understand how commuters would react to a MaaS product. Read about the experiment here, as told by the people involved.

There’s so much to look forward to in the future of transport as we become better connected than ever, in less time and without a carbon footprint. We’ve found ourselves in a moment of isolation, but it’s also a time to reflect and reset. A time to ponder what the future of transport looks like and prepare to build the future we want when this comes to pass.

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