Written By: Ravi Kumar Verma, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, zingbus
Advancements in technology are positively affecting nearly every aspect of our lives. And when it comes to transportation and mobility, advancement is the vital element combined with self-driven technologies, shifting consumer preferences and safety. These advanced technologies are paving the way for the future of mobility that will not only enhance the customer experiences but would also play an incremental role in the brand building of the travel companies.
The journey to the future of mobility is already well underway. Digital tech is breaking the barriers between different modes of transportation, and the developers are reimagining mobility. However, the current shift in modernization is headed towards sustainable and eco-friendlier ways, which is visible in manufacturing and operations.
Tech implementation and intercity bus travel industry
The mobility sector witnessed a great transformation in the intercity bus travel industry in the past years. The introduction of point-to-point connectivity with the help of multi-modal transportation in the segment will significantly impact the mobility sector’s overall future.
Emerging technologies like automotive and assistance driving are ushering in the future of mobility, helping the companies to provide a better-altered customer experience.
The industry is efficiently using technology and predicted algorithms to ensure maximum yield for our operator partners. Network optimization, inventory across the web, and fair pricing help to ensure affordable and convenient travel. Even regulating every moving part of the business, right from on boarding the bus to its maintenance, schedule adherence, trackability, etc., delivers a smooth boarding and in-journey experience for the travellers.
Customer Satisfaction and use of technology
Advancement in technology and shifting consumer expectations are paving the way for a better future for the bus mobility industry. The implementation of features like cost optimization and dynamic pricing system have curved towards affordable travel options for people with a better quality service.
The players ensure to integrate constructive feedback from customers with the maintenance dashboard to ensure that all highlighted amenity-related issues are sorted in real-time. Intelligent network design also provides affordable travel options to all users.
Digitalization and the usage of advanced technology through online bookings and routing systems help to ensure a smooth flow of bus journeys; catering for a personalized customer experience through configurable seats, network connectivity, and more will increase the number of customers enriching their experiences and interest in intercity bus journeys.
The brands prioritize customer experience through streamlining their needs and requirements with online and easy ticket booking, maximizing the in-journey experience of travellers using an effective boarding process by introducing 100% live tracking, schedule updates, instructions to reach pick-up points and identifiers on google maps. This, along with rigorous training of bus staff, ensures that the customer doesn’t miss his/her bus and enjoys a smooth travel.
Sustainability and Tech
E-mobility is growing rapidly, aided by various elements like technological advancement, economic viability, quick adoption by travellers, among others. EVs have emerged as one of the most feasible solutions, and their adoption in the public transport sector will lead to a clean travel experience.
Technology paired with sustainable travel can prove to be a game-changer for intercity bus mobility. And with the growing usage of Electric Vehicles on Indian roads signals towards a promising eco-friendly country. EVs contribution brings a considerable scope in the intercity bus services providing the zero-emission mobility solution helping us to ease off from the crisis of rising fuel prices. Moreover, supporting EV segments for the buses will contribute towards a safer and better travel experience in the near future.
Safety and Tech
As with any sector, safety is paramount – keeping drivers and passengers safe is hugely important to any public transporters, both in terms of vehicle monitoring and keeping occupants of the vehicle safe, too – a situation in which advanced technology systems will certainly play a part.
One of the most significant advances in recent years has been the use of GPS-based technology to monitor and track the movements of buses. This system was originally implemented to allow live data to be fed across routes, making life easier for passengers. Software packages such as geographic fencing, which automatically notify the transport manager if a vehicle exceeds its predefined boundaries, also aid.
The future holds driver assistance technology, which employs camera and radar systems in tandem with GPS to assist drivers in avoiding collisions. Moreover, driver behaviour is also important for passenger safety. Recent advances in telematics have made it convenient for bus suppliers to monitor how well the vehicles are driven and identify areas where drivers may require additional training.
Conclusion
Technological advances are already altering the way we think about travel. We are beginning to see the emergence of “mobility as a service,” which brings together functions such as customer information and payments across various modes of transportation. There is no doubt that technology has been a great asset for the shift in the mobility industry, positively affecting both the intercity as well as intracity segments.
However, understanding the customers’ needs will continue to be the mainstay for the industry. Not every commuter who travels in a bus operates from a similar thought process, and this is why grasping their idea of need and providing them with the service which fulfils that need is crucial.
To sum it up, the future of the mobility industry, mainly in India, is growing to be interesting and is at a challenging juncture. Transport technology will change faster in the next two decades than at any other time in history. Electric and self-driving vehicles will replace vehicles powered by fossil fuels and internal combustion engines. The advanced technologies already are and will continue to reshape the transportation eco-system, redefining and reshaping people’s experiences.
