UK report says transport innovation at risk due to unshared data

Innovation in transport is at risk because data is not being shared in the sector – according to a new report commissioned by the Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) and using analysis from the Open Data Institute (ODI) and Deloitte. Fears around cyber security, lack of data literacy skills and a legacy of viewing transport modes such as rail and road in isolation are restricting the free flow of information, preventing the UK from unlocking the full potential of its transport network. According to the TSC
April 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Innovation in transport is at risk because data is not being shared in the sector – according to a new report commissioned by the 7800 Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) and using analysis from the Open Data Institute (ODI) and 1979 Deloitte.

Fears around cyber security, lack of data literacy skills and a legacy of viewing transport modes such as rail and road in isolation are restricting the free flow of information, preventing the UK from unlocking the full potential of its transport network. According to the TSC, overcoming these barriers could unlock US$17.5 billion (£14billion) of benefits from new innovations by 2025.

Technologies such as driverless cars, journey planning apps and smart ticketing are all identified as opportunities which can be fully exploited with a strong data regime that opens and shares as much data as possible while respecting privacy.  The TSC is calling on government to work closely not only with the Catapult, but industry to develop a data culture by providing a framework for secure access to data and guidelines for opening and sharing data; led by a new Mobility Data Hub to help the public and private sector work together and breakdown the barriers.

The report claims that investment in data could lead to faster journeys, lower emissions, improved regional connections and opportunities for job creation in an emerging technology sector – without the need for massive infrastructure building projects.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS homes in on cycling safety
    April 9, 2014
    A new generation of ITS equipment is helping road authorities get to grips with cycle safety – and not a moment too soon as Colin Sowman discovers. Cyclists - remember them? Apparently not. At least not according to the OECD 2013 report Cycling, Health and Safety which contains the statement: ‘Cyclists are often forgotten in the design of the road traffic system’. Looking through the statistics that exist (each country appears to compile them differently) it is not difficult to see how such a conclusion cou
    Read More
  • Cost Benefit: the economic case for cycling
    August 20, 2019
    Cycling is good for us for any number of reasons. David Crawford finds that it is now possible to access basic, low-cost data which will help make the economic case for improving infrastructure Cycling is enjoying a favourable press the world over as a ‘good thing’ in the economic, environmental and social spheres. A recent study on the Value of Cycling from the UK’s University of Birmingham, for example, shows that cycle-friendly urban settings can deliver annualised transport infrastructural support co
    Read More
  • User based insurance is helping good drivers and identifying the bad ones
    November 28, 2013
    Thomas Hallauer gives an overview of Usage Based Insurance (UBI), an industry that is putting telematic devices into more vehicles than fleet management ever did. The insurance market is going through a transformation phase never seen before. Insurers have not only started to track individual cars for Usage Based Insurance (UBI), they are also using the technology to enhance consumer services as more drivers join up to these schemes. Progressive Insurance in the US has 1.4 million customers signed up to
    Read More
  • Do we need a new approach to ITS and traffic management?
    January 31, 2012
    In an article which has implications for the European Electronic Toll Service, ASECAP's Kallistratos Dionelis asks whether the approach we currently take to major ITS system implementations is always the best or healthiest. I was asked recently to write a paper on the technology-oriented future of transport. To paraphrase, I started with: "The goal of European policy-makers is to establish a transport system which meets society's economic, social and environmental needs, satisfying in parallel a rising dema
    Read More

Highlighted Content