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motorway system, or using the major tunnels in London.


Cubic is a big player in transport ticketing. Why get into road transport when you’re so successful already? We expanded into road transport because the transport industry is changing. We need to address the growing pressures on all our transport networks – which includes not only trains and buses but also modes traditionally regarded as pri- vate. The way to achieve this is through the intelligent use of data – and having ITMS join us means we can begin to com- plete a new element of the jigsaw, drawing on road data from the multiple systems managed by ITMS. There is much less of a distinction


between ‘a public transport user’ and ‘a driver’ nowadays. For example, some take the train during the week to get to work and then drive to get from A to B at the weekend. ITS – or at least our vision of it called NextCity – takes this into account and integrates private travel modes with public ones. It is now not enough to look at transport systems as being made up of inde- pendent sections. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and bringing on board ITMS further enhances our ability to pro- vide operators and agencies with the tools to manage their ‘whole of transport’ networks.


Why Serco (ITMS)? Why not an American company where you could have expanded your operations in the US first? ITMS’ capabilities are not limited to the UK – we are active in Sydney, for example. The business actually represented a perfect fit for Cubic. Firstly, it has an exceptional track record: it has held the Transport for London LTRACS contract under which it has maintained equipment in 11 major tunnels in London for 20 years. Its retained the tender by winning competitive pitches every five years. It’s a significant achieve- ment and shows we’re doing a great job. The knowledge, expertise and experience of the team is second to none and that impressed us and met our high standards. Secondly, Cubic is a global company


working in most continents and ITMS will be able to address further global opportunities as part of the Cubic family. Although a fair few of the ITMS customers are in the UK, a team with such expertise can easily replicate successful projects around the world, as they have done in Sydney. Governments are realising the


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“We need to address the growing pressures on all our transport networks – which includes not only trains and buses but also modes traditionally regarded as private”


benefits of ITS and we can take that knowledge and help other cities and regions around the world, too. Certainly we have received warm welcomes in meetings with agencies in the US.


So you’re saying that, as ITS becomes more customer-focused, it’s essential that you’re not just in one part of transportation? The global population is growing at a tremendous rate, and metropolitan and suburban areas are ‘morphing’ into mega- cities. The distance between cities, towns and commercial and industrial districts is reducing and populations need to be mobile for economies to thrive. These fac- tors equate to more transport journeys, and as a global population, we’re also increasingly aware of the environmental impact of our journey choices and the need to change our behaviour. As a result, people are starting to spread their journeys across different modes for environmental, financial and convenience reasons. Also, cities are coming to understand


that being “smart” means bringing down walls between transport network ele- ments – road systems, parking, public transport, private and shared transport options, and at the end of the day, the payment associated with using these ser- vices is basically the same. NextCity aids operators and agencies who are dealing with this shift in modal use. NextCity articulates Cubic’s view of how the ITS of the future will work, based on our experience with many of the world’s most


Martin Howell


iconic cities. Networks can’t be managed coherently


in this day and age by looking at each mode or section independently. NextCity will enable operators to regulate demand by setting fees across all modes of trans- port within a region, as well as empower- ing their customers with targeted, precise information to manage how they travel. Through constantly gathered data and


the ability to instantaneously turn that into intelligence – and then applying that intel- ligence – it will maximise the benefit of truly real-time traveller information across mobile apps, message signs, tolling and road usage charging, parking accounts, and journey planning systems, and integrate them within an over-arching plan. In fact, it goes beyond ‘real-time’ and ushers in an era where problems are predicted (and miti- gated) based on historical patterns. This revolution is impossible to do


without a systems architect like Cubic, who truly understands the intrinsic link between payment, information and tech- nology. It is a daunting challenge and seemingly complex but effectively, since the transactions are merely extensions of a field in which we are already world leaders, it’s completely achievable.


What components make up NextCity? The foundation of NextCity is the NextFare and NextAccount platforms. NextCity integrates them with the pay- ment and information systems of other transport modes, without the need to replace any existing infrastructures. As


In the future, traffic control centes will manage more than just the roads


smarthighways.net Vol 2 No 1 smartHIGHWAYS





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