“Ready for the future” is an order. A real Herculean challenge when you look at where we are: Public transport currently accounts for about 20 percent of the kilometers people drive. We travel the lion’s share, namely about 80 percent, individually by car or motorcycle. Even extremely high fuel prices have made little difference. Although this made public transport slightly cheaper compared to the car, it remained the “second winner” compared to the car.
Humans are creatures of habit, including in terms of mobility. We change our movement habits primarily at key moments. Usually this is a move or job change. The coronavirus has been a collective key moment in the recent past: the number of people using public transport has plummeted and still hasn’t leveled off at pre-coronavirus levels.
Now fuel prices are high, and with them a window of opportunity for the “winds of change”. So what makes us move forward or change? Practicality (travel time) and cheapness (price/quality ratio) are the key points when deciding: “Do you travel by public transport or by car?”
Today we have a different idea of value for money than 20 years ago: who would have thought that GPS would know where I am better than I do? Who would have thought that the distance traveled could be displayed with high accuracy? Who would have thought that to get a ticket it is enough to swipe your finger on the phone screen? Much of our lives have been reimagined in recent years, and the possibilities are nearly limitless as a result. This creates a need – also in public transport: passes for the number of days you really need (part-time / home office pass), automatically generated tickets with the lowest price for the selected / travel route, discounts when using an inexpensive electronic ticket. -use channels, super save tickets and much more.
Why haven’t we done this already? Much of the answer lies in the fact that the established structures of our public transport system are at their limits. Just as it makes no sense to install a motor in a horse-drawn carriage, so it makes no sense to look for the future of the digital world in the designs of the analog world. After careful scrutiny, the industry seems to have come to this conclusion and wants to head for the E-Tariff. I welcome this very much, because it makes it possible to provide individually suitable products at any time in a convenient way.
In this way, many of the costly burdens of the analog world can disappear. No one will have to ask themselves: did I buy the right ticket? Why is my subscription not counting? Why was I sold an expensive ticket when it could have been cheaper? I think this is the right way – and we should all encourage and support the industry in this.
I understand that some people find it difficult to change something. But we cannot stop the course of the world. I would like to recall the exclamation attributed to Henry Ford: “If I asked people what they want, they would say: faster horses.” Cars appeared anyway, and for more than 100 years they have been an integral part of our lives.