Skip to main content

New digital technology puts London transport at a tipping point, says think tank

In a new report, UK policy think tank The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argues that London is at a crossroads between two futures. One where the transport network is increasingly gridlocked, the air grows ever dirtier and the cost of accessing good transport increases. Or one where all can harness the best of digital technology, reducing journeys and air pollution, and opening up new opportunities to make London a more attractive place to live. The report investigates how new technology co
March 24, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
In a new report, UK policy think tank The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argues that London is at a crossroads between two futures. One where the transport network is increasingly gridlocked, the air grows ever dirtier and the cost of accessing good transport increases. Or one where all can harness the best of digital technology, reducing journeys and air pollution, and opening up new opportunities to make London a more attractive place to live.

The report investigates how new technology could help or hinder efforts to effect more sustainable forms of travel behaviour and are already having a tangible impact on the way that Londoner’s move around the city. New private hire technology like 8336 Uber and new delivery patterns driven by companies like Amazon are just a first glimpse of the size of the revolution that digital technologies will unleash on London’s transport system. Future technologies, like autonomous vehicles and Mobility as Service platforms, promise even bigger and more rapid change.

There are potentially many positive effects of including these services into London’s integrated transport network; IPPR argues that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan needs to seize the opportunity, saying that car clubs such as 6452 DriveNow and 3874 ZipCar should be a key part of his vision for London’s transport system. It also recommends developing a framework for new travel markets, setting out a set of positive outcomes for the transport system and appointing a chief digital officer for the capital, as well as making 1466 Transport for London the central hub for travel data.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Most Brits do not expect new transport tech anytime soon, says Fujitsu
    April 16, 2019
    Three-quarters of Brits do not expect to see artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) or machine learning (ML) used in transport in the next five years, says Fujitsu. Eight out of 10 respondents to a survey for the Japanese tech firm also do not anticipate the use of facial recognition for security purposes in that time. Despite this, the British public welcomes new technology used in transport, with more than a third of respondents saying that technologies such as contactless payments
  • Cubic: predictive analytics is putting fortune tellers out of business
    November 23, 2018
    The rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence means that fortune tellers will soon be out of business. Ed Chavis takes a behind the scenes look at the world of predictive analytics ver since organisations started taking advantage of insights derived from Big Data, data scientists concentrated their efforts on the ability to make correct assumptions about the future. A few years later, with the help of automation, developments in machine learning (ML) and advancements in the application of a
  • Magway plots retail delivery revolution
    May 8, 2020

    While most of the debate around hyperloop focuses on the potential for passenger traffic, technology firms are also exercised about how to respond to the fast-changing nature of the retail sector.

    One such company is the UK-based start-up Magway, co-founded in 2017 by former South African mining engineer Rupert Cruise and retail and technology consultant Phill Davies.

    In short, Magway moves goods from warehouses to distribution centres – or to new residential or commercial hubs - through small, high-density polyethylene pipes in pods driven by linear synchronous motors.

  • New report explores the future of mobility and technology in cities
    November 11, 2015
    A new report released today from the National League of Cities (NLC) explores trends in mobility and technology in cities and identifies what cities can do to move seamlessly and efficiently into the future of mobility. City of the Future: Technology and Mobility explores how transportation will change with coming technological disruptions, draws on knowledge from leading experts in the field and delves into city and regional transportation planning documents from the 50 most populous US cities, as well as