Transport is going through radical changes as a result of technological advancements – and we are hurtling towards a world of IoT, automation, and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). New stakeholders are emerging every week, the “old guard” are investing in new innovation projects, and nobody quite knows how the competitive landscape will develop over the next decade.
It’s a fascinating time in mobility, and at CCV, we’re proud to be part of it. We specialise in unattended payment solutions for the mobility industry – from public transport access/ticketing to contactless terminals for parking, fuel, and EV charging stations. We’re experts on payments, but we love to speak to specialists in all areas of transportation to understand what’s happening on a broader level.
We’d like to point you in the direction of our Mobility Trends Report, where we speak to 11 industry experts, and learn 19 key trends in mobility. You can download it today for free.
And in this article, we’ll hear from some of these experts about two of the biggest mobility innovation themes: smarter and cleaner public transport, and electric vehicles and increased automation.
Smarter and Cleaner Public Transport
According to Aida Abdulah, Senior Project Manager in the Knowledge and Innovation Department at UITP, “the biggest challenges that lie ahead for our cities are climate change, urbanisation, and an ageing population.” Aida suggests that “we need to strive for a public transport able to reduce its carbon footprint even more, to comfortably move a high volume of passengers, whilst meeting the needs of people with reduced mobility and/or cognitive impairments.”
And Giuliano Mingardo, Senior researcher at the Erasmus Centre for Urban, Port and Transport Economics, thinks that these types of innovations in mobility will be driven by the big players:
“We’re shifting to a smarter form of mobility, integrating IT with transportation more readily. There is an effort to increase flexibility and ease of use, catering for changing needs. This will involve ‘mobility integrators,’” he says. “Apple gave us everything we needed in terms of entertainment; music, hardware, software, movies, TV, and more. The same is happening in mobility. The big players are investing in providing holistic mobility in an entirely new way, but it’s unclear who will take leadership.”
Naturally, a more interconnected system of travel will have an impact on how people pay for their mobility. According to Simon Wood, Senior Key Account Manager here at CCV, this is more complex than it sounds. He says the key is “the tracking of secure identity across services owned and managed by a variety of providers – in order to enable both forward reservations and payment.”
With this variety of providers, it’s vital to increase collaboration within the industry. The only way to build the infrastructure for smart and clean integrated transport to thrive is to work closely together.
And according to Richard van der Wulp, Urban Traffic Planner & Project Manager at Municipality of Rotterdam, this collaboration is happening. “A new, more regular, way of public and private companies working together is starting to emerge. In Rotterdam, a whole new mobility industry is arising,” he says.
“On a day-to-day basis, we find ways to improve the cooperation between multiple mobility-related companies. The same can be seen on a global scale.”
Note: Download your free Mobility Trends Report to learn 19 of the biggest industry trends, put forward by 11 experts working in mobility and payments.
Electric Vehicles and Increased Automation
The electric vehicle industry is growing, with 2.2 million plug-in electric light vehicles sold globally in 2019. By 2022, there will be over 500 different EV models available globally.
“We will see a rapid increase in electric cars – because more accessible vehicles are entering the market,” says Maartje Sonnenberg, Head of Customer Experience and Product Owner at FastNed. “These new vehicles are attractive in terms of price, and they have a better range. The interest in sustainable cars is increasing in families, individuals, and businesses.”
This view is echoed by Arjan van der Eijk, CEO at Innogy. According to Arjan, “the global EV market is at the tipping point of steady rapid growth. This is enabled by an EV charging infrastructure, where IT supported features are setting important trends.”
He also sees an important role for payments, because “along with existing methods to authenticate at charge ports, unattended payment, like contactless NFC, is making EV charging increasingly mainstream.”
And Olav Madland, CEO of Norway-based autonomous transportation experts, Applied Autonomy, sees automation as a big part of the story – alongside the shift to electric vehicles. According to Olav, “by the early 2020s, we’ll see things like truck platooning, unmanned delivery services, and autonomous minibuses.” He says this will develop quickly, with automated driving on expressways and unmanned automated mobility services actively operating in some areas by around 2025.
Summary
We hope that article has given you a taste for the insights that are featured in our Mobility Trends Report. You can download it for free, and get in touch if you’d like to contribute your own views on current and future mobility trends. You can also contact us and learn more about CCV’s unattended payment solutions for the mobility industry on CCV.eu/self-service.
About the Author
Niek Seuren contributes his international sales expertise and knowledge of the mobility industry to EV Charging. With a degree in Marketing Management and having held previous sales and marketing positions in various industries, Niek brings a wide range of experience, professionalism, and creativity to CCV. He has been part of our sales teams since mid-2020 as a Key Account Manager. You can contact Niek >> HERE.