Shaping future mobility through connected thinking

Mott MacDonald sees future mobility as being about the changing way we use and interact with transport, land use and telecommunications systems. It’s about changes to connectivity and accessibility as well as new and emerging technologies, says Glenn Lyons, Mott MacDonald Professor of Future Mobility

The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed, noted science fiction writer William Gibson. We are living in times where the digital age has matured rapidly – merging with, and disrupting, the motor age. The level of connectivity in society is immeasurably greater than it has ever been in the past. This creates opportunities for innovation in transport systems and services and for new forms and norms of communication. It also means that news and hype spread rapidly. We can become quickly aware of niche developments taking place anywhere in the world. Yet determining which developments might be early signs of what is to become mainstream for society in future is much less clear.

At Mott MacDonald, we are delighted to be playing our part in Smarter Travel LIVE! 2018. At the heart of what we do is the importance of connected thinking – bringing together great minds from different backgrounds, disciplines and perspectives in order to tackle the challenges and opportunities that we face in creating a better future. Smarter Travel LIVE! is a forum for such connected thinking. It’s about sharing an understanding of the goals of different stakeholders, and sharing examples of what is being done to fulfil those goals. Importantly, it is also about critical thinking and dialogue – bringing challenge to bear upon the effectiveness of (proposed) solutions in the interests of helping shape approaches.

It would be easy for an outsider to view the transport sector as being wholly preoccupied with facilitating a move towards an electric, connected, autonomous and shared future… responsible innovation concerns setting the framework conditions so that what innovation makes possible is subservient to the goals of the society that it serves

Agents of change

As the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is purported to have said: ‘Those who have knowledge, don’t predict; those who predict, don’t have knowledge’. It’s a fool’s errand to make predictions, even if it's tempting to do so. And it can be dangerous, especially if numbers are involved. They can be powerful and persuasive, and mask the significant assumptions that will have (implicitly) been made in arriving at them. In these complex, uncertain and changing times in which we live, we must rise above temptations to predict. We must instead work together to establish a vision of what we wish to achieve, and then look to the steps that must be taken to shape the future and realise that vision.

From smart to effective

There is a big difference between invention and innovation. Innovation has been described as an invention that has a socio-economic effect: it changes the way people live. Innovation diffusion refers to the process of take-up (or not) of an innovation across society. Things that are technologically possible can easily be attributed with adjectives such as ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’. Indeed we can be seduced by the siren sound of technology and drawn to making reference to ‘revolution’ when it comes to the future of mobility. Truly smart innovation is that which brings about benefits for providers and/or users. 

Our priority is to help develop effective solutions with our clients. To do so means understanding their goals. It means understanding the system, social and behavioural contexts in which technologies and services are deployed. In short, understanding what makes people tick and how the innovation on offer will fit into their everyday lives.

Mott MacDonald sees future mobility as being about the changing way we use and interact with the transport, land use and telecommunications systems. It’s about changes to connectivity and accessibility. It’s about new and emerging technologies. And it’s about how we harness these changes to underpin the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of society.

Outcomes

It would be easy for an outsider to view the transport sector as being wholly preoccupied with facilitating a move towards an electric, connected, autonomous and shared future. This territory is clearly important and holds promise, but we must strike the right balance between how to move towards this future, why we wish to move towards this future, and what this future should look like in terms of the outcomes that are desired. As well as outcomes we might seek there are outcomes that, if we do not anticipate them, may be less desirable. Responsible innovation concerns setting the framework conditions such that what innovation makes possible is subservient to the society that it serves. Smarter travel should remain, at its heart, focused upon whether, when, where and how to travel, and how to support this in the interests of people individually and collectively.

Smarter Travel LIVE! is an opportunity to be aware of, and part of, the latest developments. It’s an opportunity not only to consider specific practical applications but to stand back, join the dots and consider how everything comes together to form the bigger picture of change and opportunity

Uncertainty and transition

There is a lot happening out there and new possibilities will continue to emerge. Smarter Travel LIVE! is an opportunity to be aware of, and part of, the latest developments. It’s an opportunity not only to consider specific practical applications but to stand back, join the dots and consider how everything comes together to form the bigger picture of change and opportunity. It offers a sense of the ‘here and now’ while shining some light on what may be to come. In this regard, it is now widely recognised that we face deep uncertainty in social, technological, economic, environmental and political terms. We need to expose and make sense of this uncertainty, asking questions concerning what it means for the pursuit of making travel smarter. 

We need to focus attention on today’s mobility challenges and opportunities while remaining mindful of what course we may be on for the longer term. Talk of being on the cusp of a mobility revolution can be misleading – there is no pending event or end state that will mark the arrival of ‘future mobility’. Instead we face a messy and quite possibly protracted transitional period of years and decades towards a new regime. This requires public authorities to take an adaptive approach to charting the course ahead; but always with an eye to the beacon of higher level goals in terms of the type of placemaking and accessibility that is appropriate to support a thriving society.

We very much look forward to seeing you at Smarter Travel LIVE!