Mind the gap: rail struggling to get mobile

By Jamye Harrison

In 2009 most people expect that they have access to their money walking down the street, in shops and over the Internet. With the rising popularity of smart phones such as Blackberries and iPhones, we now have the luxury, and perhaps inconvenience, of constant access to email. GPS devices enable us to locate ourselves almost anywhere on Earth in relation to roads, landmarks and speed cameras. In recent years even our politicians, notably Kevin Rudd and Barack Obama, have embraced social networking to engage constituents about political events and policy reform.
In Australia however, public transport providers, including rail operators, are yet to fully enjoy the benefits offered by new information delivery technology such as mobile communications and real-time integration. Many operators’ web sites provide static timetable information that either doesn’t reflect the impact of planned maintenance or hasn’t been updated to account for unplanned events such as breakdowns or passenger incidents.
The gap between rail operators and other industries widens further when we consider mobile information delivery. Given the uptake of mobile phones, and specifically smart phones, people now expect access to information on the move. Today we can check our bank account balance, transfer funds, instantly purchase music, read the news and check road traffic conditions on our mobiles. However in most instances we cannot easily locate the nearest train service, search a real time timetable or get updates about delays on our mobiles.
To compound this situation, where some transport operators have developed mobile information services their usability is limited by a lack of personalisation. This feature enables users of a service to save their preferences and thereby tailor information to suit their specific needs. It is particularly important for mobile users so that they can limit the amount of navigation required using small screens and keyboards.
From the public’s point of view this divide between public transport operators and other service providers can be inconvenient and frustrating.
From rail operators’ points of view it represents a substantial missed opportunity. It means that the ways in which operators can engage with customers and potential customers is limited. And the utility of what information is available is limited.
Addressing these challenges requires a number of capabilities:
.Technology innovation in order to cost effectively integrate new delivery mechanisms with existing systems;
.Adept changes to processes that minimise operational disruption while maximising benefits for capturing information about rail services;
.Robust information management practices to deliver high quality information services.
However the potential benefits are significant and go to the core of a rail operator’s mission.
Real time information about service changes and delays improves customer service and satisfaction. Few things are more frustrating than waiting for a late train and not knowing when it may turn up, why it is late and what alternatives there are to get to my destination. Improving the information available in these situations can limit customer dissatisfaction. When done really well it can lift customer satisfaction metrics and make for a more forgiving and loyal customer base.
Good quality information, available on a choice of delivery devices makes public transport easier to use and easier to integrate into our everyday routine. This in turn removes barriers to using rail services and hence supports patronage growth – both from new customers and from increasing usage by existing ones.

Jamye Harrison is a director, Deloitte Consulting, specialising in public infrastructure transformation projects. Until recently Jamye was a general manager in ICT and chief architect at RailCorp where he led strategy development and delivered a five-year Enterprise Architecture program to improve business performance, customer service and efficiency. In his role at Deloitte Consulting he specialises in public infrastructure transformation projects. Contact: jamyharrison@deloitte.com.au