Transport operators, particularly passenger transit authorities, are under pressure to deliver improved outcomes and reduced costs while operating within the constraints of being publicly funded and adhering to strict regulations. Data from recent surveys show that the top areas of concern for transportation executives in 2018 were:

  • Revenue/business growth
  • State of good repair
  • Rider safety and experience
  • Cost optimization/reduction
  • Risk mitigation/loss management
  • Lack of IT resources

This shows that transportation agencies are balancing conflicting priorities to meet their operational objectives. Although there are technology solutions that can overcome many of these challenges, it is not easy for agencies to adopt them. This is because they are heavily regulated and in the public eye, so tend to be risk averse and wary of adopting innovations until they are well-proven.

However, that does not mean the industry has no desire to change.  In fact, research from 2018 highlights that transport operators expressed intentions to invest in these technologies:

  • Data analytics (for predictive maintenance)
  • Cyber/Information security
  • Cloud services
  • Digital transformation
  • Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)
  • Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

So, it seems clear that transport operators have a need for technology solutions to overcome their business problems and they have a desire to invest in these solutions, but perceived risk and cost concerns are holding them back.

To break the deadlock, operators need to know that transportation solutions are field-proven, easy to use and shown to decrease operational costs with no increase in IT resources. These solutions must have a clear ROI and directly align with their most pressing business needs. Forward-looking operators are also looking to combine Internet of Things (IoT) technology with AI/ML to create opportunities for predictive maintenance and enhanced cost optimization. The key here is that IoT solutions are built from open standards that can be easily integrated with other systems, otherwise they risk becoming standalone silos and management overheads.

Envigilant Systems is a business unit within Allied Telesis that has engineering capabilities to build transportation-focused IoT solutions built from open technologies. These solutions have been field tested in a wide variety of production deployments, giving you the assurance that Envigilant Systems has the experience and knowledge to be a trusted and valuable technology partner.

Data from the 2018 Gartner CIO Survey