Skip to main content

Public transport study: What moves the sector?

A new study by transportation software provider PTV Group concludes that scarcity of resources and demographic change are determining the future of public transport. The study illustrates which topics are moving the public transport sector and how stakeholders are dealing with them. The study involved around 300 participants from around the world, including transport operators, associations, consultants and engineering companies. The majority (81 per cent) stated fewer resources and climate change as the l
February 11, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
A new study by transportation software provider 3264 PTV Group concludes that scarcity of resources and demographic change are determining the future of public transport.  The study illustrates which topics are moving the public transport sector and how stakeholders are dealing with them.

The study involved around 300 participants from around the world, including transport operators, associations, consultants and engineering companies. The majority (81 per cent) stated fewer resources and climate change as the largest industry driver. Moreover, 80 per cent believe that demographic change is a strong driver.

The four different groups evaluated both topics differently. For example, transport operators and consulting and engineering organisations placed major emphasis on green concepts: Over half of those surveyed (72 per cent) are working on more efficient vehicle utilisation. Optimised schedules came second (61 per cent). The use of environmentally friendly vehicles, such as solar buses or hybrid vehicles, came third (58 per cent).

Transport associations and authorities in particular see the need for action on demographic change. Half of the transport associations state that it is a strong driver; for transport authorities it is as much as 67 per cent. "For example, due to our ageing society, school transport will drop off, which in many regions has a decisive influence on the public transport offerings," says Dr Ing. Peter Mott, business development director of PTV Group. This traffic represents an important source of revenue for transport operators and associations. They will therefore be forced to develop new, sustainable concepts, mastering the challenges of demographic change.

According to Mott, with the increasing flexibility of offerings due to alternative forms of operation as well as demand-responsive operation, there is a variety of ideas in progress.  "As a provider of transport planning software, it is exciting for us to see which ideas will prevail and how software-supported planning will contribute to design," he says.

The study claims that a good quarter of those surveyed have already complemented their offering with alternative service forms, such as dial-a-ride transport services, and around one in ten is already offering demand-responsive operations such as on request by pressing a button at the bus stop or stopping on request. One in five is planning to implement the latter in the next five years.

The study can be downloaded from the PTV Group website, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.ptv-vision.com/PuT www.ptv-vision.com/PuT false http://www.ptv-vision.com/PuT false false%>.

Related Content

  • February 5, 2015
    Impact of new European Directive on toll concessions: ASECAP conference
    ASECAP, the European association of operators of toll road infrastructures is organising a high level conference to analyse the impact of the new European Directive on the award of concession contracts across Europe, focusing specifically on the transport sector. The conference, whose theme is Concession model, an efficient tool to foster growth across Europe: how to build a level-playing field to attract private investors, will be held on 30 March 2015 from 1030 to 1630 at the European Economic and Soc
  • February 11, 2016
    BESTFACT: Best practices for freight
    The four-year Best Practice Factory for Freight Transport (BESTFACT) project collected, developed, evaluated and disseminated innovative ideas for city logistics, green logistics, co-modality and e-freight, has closed. A new handbook, which includes 157 sustainable best practice examples from across Europe, is now available. The aim of the project is to help reduce negative environmental effects, improve transport execution efficiency and present the positive results of such measures. The knowledge platf
  • March 22, 2012
    PTV extends cooperation with Gevas
    German software provider PTV has taken a minority stake in Gevas software, a leading traffic engineering firm, further strengthening the companies' close ties. PTV has also acquired product rights for important ITS software components, while Gevas will be able to sharpen its profile as project and integration solutions partner.
  • November 27, 2015
    FIA reveals what vehicle-driver data is being tracked
    FIA Region I has revealed exactly what data new vehicles are able to track and transmit. Technical tests carried out by the German Automobile Association (ADAC) on behalf of FIA Region I on two vehicles, a conventionally-fuelled vehicle and an electric vehicle, found that, in addition to the creation of driver profiles, vehicle location, trip length, personal information synced from mobile phones are tracked and can be transmitted back to the manufacturer. A public survey of 12,000 people in 12 Euro