Why data, technology and collaboration are key to smart mobility

Maria Bengtsson

UK Head of Mobility, EY

To develop efficient and people-centric smart mobility solutions, the private and public sectors will need to work together using the right combination of data and technology.

Smart mobility is a key feature of smart cities, says Maria Bengtsson, UK Head of Mobility at global professional services organisation, EY. “In this context, ‘mobility’ doesn’t mean individual cars, trains or buses or bicycles,” she explains. “Smart mobility is about ALL modes of transport working in an interconnected way, to enable efficient and sustainable movement of people and goods.”

People-centric smart mobility solutions

Smart mobility has the potential to improve people’s quality of life. For example, if train and bus schedules are aligned, passenger journeys could be seamless and waiting times could be minimised. If real-time information about traffic flows and more efficient routes are available, congestion can be minimised and both journey times and air quality can be improved.

Therefore, Bengtsson notes that the best smart mobility solutions must be people-centric. “It’s about giving them [people] the easiest, most convenient way to get from where they are to where they need to be,” she says. Unfortunately, most urban environments are still some way from this type of joined-up thinking.

The best smart mobility solutions
must be people-centric.

Data and technology are key enablers of smart mobility

To develop effective, people-centric and sustainable mobility solutions, smart city planners need access to the right combination of data (e.g. public transport schedules and traffic flow information) and tech (e.g. traffic monitoring, predictive analytics and dynamic route management). However, there are challenges to overcome first.

For instance, according to EY’s latest Mobility Consumer Index study — which surveyed 19,000 respondents across 28 countries — more than a third of respondents in Europe have security concerns around data-sharing. Moreover, 56% of respondents also felt that consumers should be paid to share personal or vehicle data. If smart city mobility is to become a reality, predictive analytics will need to identify patterns in aggregated travel data made up of millions of individual data points.

Public-private collaboration for beneficial delivery

To make a people-centric transition to smart cities possible, private and public sectors will also need to work together in a smart way, sharing data and technology. “A city is a public space,” says Bengtsson. “If it’s a good place to work and live and the transport system functions well, it will prosper. Of course, the private sector will be responsible for, and benefit from, some of those services. So, public-private collaboration is crucially important from a delivery perspective.” For mobility to become smarter and more coordinated, a mindset change is needed, underpinned by data and technology — and built around people’s needs.