Partnership, customer focus and a joined up offer lead agenda for Travel 2020 event

The spotlight will be on some crucial

Repositioning the passenger transport business through partnership building, delivering an integrated offer and a culture change to put the customer at the centre of thinking are key themes for this year’s Travel 2020 conference and exhibition which will take place on the 10th & 11th October 2012 at Kia Oval, London.

A total of eight topic areas are being addressed by the event in two days of wide ranging discussion about the future of passenger transport service and system development and delivery. The event is led by New Transit and partners RTiG INFORM with the support of a range of major industry players.

Top expert speakers have already been confirmed across the main seminar sessions, with transport minister Norman Baker again to give a keynote address on the first morning.  Technological developments in payments and ticketing and information provision will once again be on his agenda and at the heart of discussions during the event. Among others speaking will be Go-Ahead group managing director David Brown, Olympic transport system chief Hugh Sumner, transport direct chief Executive Nick Illsley and the DFT’s head of fares and ticketing innovation Jenni Borg

Mark Cartwright, MD of RTIG Inform and co-chair of Travel 2020, says that the past year has again seen a brisk pace of innovation across the sector. “In passenger information, for instance, we have new information capture systems, better ways of presenting information, a continued rush to smartphones as a platform, and in the rail sector new regulatory obligations. And it’s a similar story elsewhere, whether we talk about ticketing and payments, customer relationships, sustainable travel or entirely new commercial offerings.”

Co-chair Peter Stonham adds that the latest thinking on payment and ticketing has seen some significant overlap with the evolution of passenger information systems, with this being a theme at the summer’s round table discussions about the 2020 agenda.

key sessions will cover the needs and expectations of passengers. Nick Illsley will be framing how the Government sees current passenger information and anticipates the future; Ian Wright from Passenger Focus will report on new research highlighting the factors that really make for good (or bad!) passenger information; and Will Bee (DPTAC) will review how passenger information can be configured meet the needs of disabled travellers.

Other key themes at the event will be customer relationship management and journey experience approaches that reposition the passenger transport offer, including the question of embedding culture change and a new user-focussed approach into organisations across the sector. The day 2 plenary discussion will involve experts from operators, passenger transport authorities and infrastructure providers who are tackling this challenge. Go-Ahead chief executive David Brown and South Yorkshire PTE Director General David Brown will be joined by psychologist and culture change expert Cliff Edwards who has been engaged for the past two years on a major programme of organisation and staff development with Network Rail to reposition its activity.

Other speakers  at the event will look at  steps towards greater shared endeavours between the passenger transport executives and bus companies, and the benefits and challenges for both and the customer of a more collaborative approach.

Arriva, one of the leading exponents of this thinking will be speaking and exhibiting this year, as will the Go-Ahead-Keolis joint venture Govia. They are among the event partners seeking to create good trusted partnerships to achieve a positive passenger transport offer by working with local transport authorities.

Visitors to the Travel 2020 event will have the ability to select from some 70 top expert speakers in three parallel streams  each day and visit more than 60 exhibitors.

 The event is increasingly seen as an opportunity for specialist interest groups to hold their own meetings in an atmosphere where they can network more widely towards the goal of providing an effective joined up public transport system. There will be such meetings of Carplus, RTiG Inform, ACT-TravelWise, PTIC, ATCO and Vendorcom. More than 800 individual visitors are expected to the exhibition.

For further information, and to register, visit the website

www.travel2020.co.uk

Booking your delegate place -

The two days of extensive conference discussions and networking make Travel 2020 a ‘must attend’ event for anyone whose role involves looking to the future. A special attendance rate is available to New Transit readers which allows an organisation a two day pass shared between individuals for just £445+VAT, with additional attendees at £275+VAT each and a five person package for only £1,275.00+VAT. These rates include lunches, teas and coffees and attendance at the evening networking event. To book simply use the code 15OFF at our website or email:  matthew.knight@travel2020.co.uk