When you consider how much of our lives some of us spend sitting on trains struggling with a WiFi connection – or sat in traffic struggling with our tempers – the link between transport and productivity becomes an obvious one.
In last year’s autumn statement, Chancellor Phillip Hammond put money on the connection when he announced an additional £2.6bn in funding for transport would be drawn directly from a newly-created £23bn National Productivity Investment Fund.
This money, for the most part, is to be directed towards addressing particular problem areas on our roads and railways, as well as providing upgrades to important stretches of A-road.
However, with this comes the admission that across most of the UK, we’re dealing with infrastructure first laid down in an age very different to the one we live in today.
What’s more, as the ongoing urbanisation trend shows little sign of slowing up – the UK’s cities are on course for a 7.6% population increase by mid-2025 – the pressure on this infrastructure will build.
According to the CBI, businesses in the UK are already feeling the blunt end of rising congestion – 73% consider it a major concern.
For the innovators among us, though, these kinds of constrictions are almost too good an opportunity to pass up. The challenge to develop new solutions in these conditions is just too enticing.
And indeed, there’s plenty of innovation to be excited about in the transport sector…
Building on what’s available
In the face of infrastructure that is realistically years away from full-scale upgrade, it’s possible to reuse what’s already in place and innovate ‘on top’ of it.
We’re already seeing this in action with Project SWIFT, the proof of concept being developed by our team at Cisco CREATE.
The project involves a new type of trackside fibre technology that works in tandem with existing trains and rail track to solve the all-too-common traveller woe of intermittent WiFi connectivity.
Not only is this state-of-the-art offering expected to improve the experience for passengers accessing the Internet, it will also open up a range of significant opportunities for operators and retailers too.
Small scale, proof-of-concept projects like this are vital in establishing what’s possible and providing a model from which to scale up to more widely-beneficial deployments.
Away from the rails, smart motorway projects such as that currently being rolled out on the M3 are using clever applications of technology to make the most of available road capacity.
More than 130,000 vehicles make their way along the M3 every day, and the section between Junctions 2 and 4a experiences particularly high levels of congestion.
Smart motorways enforce variable speed limits and make intermittent use of the hard shoulder to keep cars moving – and people on their way.
In Manchester, our CREATE team is working with a consortium of partners to deliver a proof of concept that addresses the specific transport needs of a growing urban centre.
Called CitySpire, the concept uses location-based services built on anonymised data to offer groups of passengers more flexible transport options, depending on where they, where they want to be, and when they need to be there.
Smart, future-proof travel and transport solutions are also a key area of focus for the Manchester-based CityVerve smart city demonstrator project, for which Cisco is the technical lead.
Making the connection
The key to all of this, of course, is connectivity.
Whether you’re responding to a busy inbox or getting through some important research, a strong, consistent WiFi connection on your train journey means less ‘dead time’.
Similarly, greater connectivity between sensors and cameras on the motorway and traffic controllers back at HQ allows for quicker, more responsive traffic management – and less congestion.
And beyond that, improved connectivity has the potential to stem the trend towards mass unsustainable urbanisation, as people are able to work and communicate from wherever they please: on a train, in the city office, or from the comfort of their rural home.
This, though, is just scraping the surface when it comes to connectivity and transport.
Autonomous cars are dependent on being able to connect with city systems, as well as each other, as they course a safe path around the country’s roads.
Modern cars are already covered in sensors and equipped with hi-tech computers monitoring everything from speed, to the environment, traffic and engine performance.
The step towards vehicles being able to communicate with one another opens up vast possibilities, and more to the point is not as far away a reality as some might think.
A convoy of Volvo vehicles already broke considerable ground – 125 miles of it, to be precise – five years ago, in 2012.
Global concerns
As something of a car enthusiast myself, I couldn’t be more excited about all of this!
There are huge potential benefits, and it’s not just about productivity – though that will remain a key (excuse the pun) driving factor.
Beyond businesses, transport professionals and the people making their journeys, there’s a strong environmental aspect to consider.
Properly coordinated private transport, and more efficient and popular public transport, means less congestion, which in turn means less pollution.
The need for a low-carbon future is difficult to dispute, and so too should be the solutions that can help to provide it.
And if that future comes with increased productivity – and fewer frustrating encounters with on-train WiFi – then it seems there’s little reason not to innovate to make it happen.
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