Metro Magazine, April 2019

APRIL 2019 METRO MAGAZINE COM 11 ture and the introduction of autonomous technologies including driverless fleets as game changing innovations that will equip public transportation authorities with the tools they need to drive down costs optimize performance and remain competitive in an increasingly crowded mobility landscape If these benefits are to crystallize stakeholders across the mobility ecosystem must commit to building state of the art transit networks A mix of private sector investment and R D and public funding matched by agencies commitment to world class service and advanced technology will unleash innumerable benefits for passengers and the planet from more reliable service to cleaner air Its time the industry commits to that future now before the innovation train leaves the station Amos Haggiag is the co founder and CEO of Optibus the more difficult to ensure that all runs according to plan Fortunately a number of tech savvy cities are paving the path toward a more intelligent future for public transportation Take Portland Oregon whose system has been hailed as the embodiment of forward thinking transit innovation Seeking to broaden public transits appeal particularly among the highly wired the city allows users to plan their journeys on their smartphones where riders can receive updates on arrival times and even pay their fares Additionally transit officials use software systems that track fleet performance generate data on ridership in real time and enable planners to better plan operations Most transit agencies have yet to tap into the immense power of cloud resources which provide quicker compute results and allow data sharing and collaboration within transit agencies McKinsey points to the integration of data from the IoT infrastrucGUEST EDITORIAL Lyft Suboptimal management of mass transit leads customers to abandon buses and the rails for services like Uber and Lyft qstraint com quantumTHE COMMUTERWith independent securement in under 25 seconds every bus rider gets the peace of mind of knowing their commute wont be delayed by lengthy wheelchair securement procedures YOU CAN BE Technological innovation is the single most important factor in determining which industries will thrive and which will wither in the emerging mobility market