{"id":7570,"date":"2020-09-19T17:29:32","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T15:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=7570"},"modified":"2020-09-20T12:01:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T10:01:33","slug":"micro-transit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/09\/19\/micro-transit\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Pandemic Open Opportunities for Micro-Transit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If running big buses on fixed routes and fixed schedules was a money-loser already, the COVID-19 pandemic may provide the tipping point for public transport as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cash-strapped transit authorities have been understandably wary of innovation and budget-conscious but now that they\u2019re collectively bleeding billions of dollars, what have they got to lose? Transit operators are finding that it\u2019s not as difficult as they thought it was to revamp their services.<\/span><\/p>\n

A case in point is ViaVan\u2019s partnership with UK bus and coach operator Stagecoach to launch a service to transport health workers in just two weeks. The Stagecoach Connect service launched with one Nottinghamshire hospital, bringing hospital staff to and from their shifts in the morning and evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Abu Dhabi Healthcare Link, another ViaVan service, covers 37 local hospitals and clinics, offering door-to-door on-demand free rides to and from the local healthcare facilities. \u201cCOVID-19 has accelerated the decline in ridership,\u201d says ViaVan CEO Chris Snyder. \u201cThe pandemic increases the opportunity to redesign the network.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This was evident in a project by Spare, provider of SaaS for mobility on demand, and EMT, a Spanish municipal transport company, in Mallorca. Spare and EMT replaced existing fixed-route services that have experienced low ridership owing to the pandemic with a mix of buses and taxis. The service actually expanded the level of transit for communities served.<\/span><\/p>\n

The service was designed in just forty-eight hours, according to Spare. Still, there are a lot of moving parts to coordinate, explains Niklas Mey, Spare\u2019s sustainability manager. While the technology could launch in minutes, he says: \u201cWhat determines the time is to decide on the service configuration\u00a0the required or desired testing, rider education, promotions, driver training, vehicle procurement, etc.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharon Feigon, executive director of the\u00a0Shared-Use Mobility Center, a public-interest, non-profit organization that advocates for reducing private vehicle use, says: \u201cThe breakdown in our systems does give us a moment where people are able to think about doing things differently, because they have<\/em> to do things differently. This is a good time to look to some of these new methods and try them out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Employer-provided options<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Many people don\u2019t have the option of driving to work, so micro-transit may be a good solution for them. Those who do have access to personal vehicles and parking may be loathe to get on shared transport.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect in that in the next few months, public transport will not be the preferred option; and we expect that to last for one to two years,\u201d says Mathieu de Lophem, CEO of Skipr. This company provides a B2B service to let employers provide micro-transit options to their employees. Its app, launched in Belgium, integrates public transport schedules, availability and payments with free-floating, shared cars, scooters and bikes. It includes a dashboard for companies to tailor and monitor the solution. De Lophem sees an incentive for European employers beyond helping workers get to the office safely: reducing their overall CO2<\/sub> emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pandemic and beyond<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Capacity planning is important to specifically address transport during the pandemic: limiting the total number of riders, as well as limiting a vehicle\u2019s passengers to a particular subgroup, whether that\u2019s employees of one company, healthcare workers or people most at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

This same capability could serve transit operators well when normal operations resume, allowing them to provide the right service at the right time to the right ridership. Moreover, the mere perception that smaller vehicles are cleaner, more comfortable or safer could encourage those who are used to using personal cars for commuting to give public transport a try.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the money?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Spare\u2019s Mey says pilots in Lubbock, Texas and Lincoln, Nebraska, have shown that public transit operators can actually reduce costs with on-demand and micro-transit service. With a set budget, \u201c..the more people use on-demand micro-transit, the smaller cost-per-ride you get,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feigon points out that there are funding and business-model issues to be addressed, for example, what revenue streams can feed into public systems. For example, medical rides and social services transportation are typically not provided by public transit operators. If smaller, on-demand vehicles operated by the transit authority are used, is there a way for public agencies to capture that? The same thing holds true if these public assets become used for food deliveries, as ViaVan is doing with the London Borough of Sutton.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will change come?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Skipr\u2019s de Lophem foresees an ugly September 2020, when some schools open and more people head back to the office. Fear of infection on public transport combined with reduced schedules and limited capacities on trains could create dreadful traffic jams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people will adapt more quickly than others,\u201d he predicts. \u201cSlowly but surely, people will realize the alternative is better, and they will change how they move.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is, will transit operators also adapt and change how they serve the public?<\/span><\/p>\n

Transit agencies are being forced to rethink their operations due to changes in budget and\/or ridership, Snyder points out, while cities that never had transit systems are looking at on-demand systems as an attractive alternative to traditional fixed routes. \u201cWe think technology has a big role to play in helping public transport build back better,\u201d Snyder says.<\/span><\/p>\n

As transit operators have scrambled to adapt, old barriers have broken down, Feigon believes. \u201cA positive in the COVID period is you have cross-agency and company collaborations happening as everyone looks toward the future and recovery,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is some bringing people together that might not otherwise have happened.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Susan Kuchinskas<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.tu-auto.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If running big buses on fixed routes and fixed schedules was a money-loser already, the COVID-19 pandemic may provide the tipping point for public transport as a whole. Cash-strapped transit authorities have been understandably wary of innovation and budget-conscious but now that they\u2019re collectively bleeding billions of dollars, what have they got to lose? Transit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[49],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7572,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570\/revisions\/7572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}