Urban transport: eliminating blind spots and missing links in the era of the fourth industrial (r)evolution

Abstract

The transport sector, especially in growing cities, faces challenges relating to the climate, local environment, congestion, funding and equality, and uncertainties over political leadership, self-driving vehicles, citizens‟ reactions, and how the system is understood. Despite ambitious goals and investments, problems escalate via motoring‟s self-supporting processes: more cars, more roads, longer journeys, urban sprawl, more cars ... . Neither technical streamlining nor investing in public transport and attractive urban environments can trump the process. This paper examines whether we can use the methods of the fourth industrial (r)evolution to transform the urban-transport system. Starting points are: the role of transport in creating accessibility; the sector‟s inherent logic and vast unused capacity, particularly in infrastructure; and the methods and business models of the rapidly expanding digital-platform monopolies. A feasible future is described, its basis a digital multimodal urban-transport platform for information and payment, founded on the sector‟s base services: room on the streets, roads, rails, car parks and public transport. The technology exists but institutional problems abound. Radical public-sector service innovations are required. The paper identifies opportunities and obstacles. It concludes by evaluating the potential to realize these ambitious goals, looking at public transport‟s role in a reorganized system of this kind.