Cities of the future:

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1 Sponsored by Cities of the future: Unlocking mobility Written by

2 Commonwealth Bank viewpoint As Australian cities grow in size and density they face great pressure to ensure their urban spaces continue to operate effectively. Graeme Ross, Managing Director, Global Head of Real Estate at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, suggests that to keep cities moving they need to develop a robust and well-connected infrastructure system, arising from better coordination and planning between government and industry, and consultation with communities than Australia has seen in the past. Through its network of Innovation Labs, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia aims to foster this collaboration to help shape mobility strategies. It is not necessarily about creating new ideas, it is just that ideas or views on technology or an approach may be stored within one particular piece of that spectrum and not shared, says Mr Ross. So The Innovation Lab helps to bring people together to have these conversations and share ideas or views on technology, which can move the collective thought process forward. Ultimately, decision makers need to be agile in responding to change and not be afraid to experiment when planning for the future mobility needs of cities. The technology that you implement today will be outdated very quickly, but understand that you are on this continuous and dynamic journey and you will never arrive at the place where the mobility solution is going to be perfect, he adds.

3 One of the guiding principles for the development of cities of the future is the need to continuously improve accessibility to housing and transport. In cities choked by traffic, the advent of driverless cars offers an opportunity to address many mobility challenges. However, to do so, cities of the future must shift away from facilitating private car and motorbike ownership, and redesign mobility patterns for more automated and shared transport. The benefits of public transport are far from a new idea, of course. The London Underground opened in 1863 and developed the first electric line in 1890, making it the first subway in the world. Others soon followed suit as they witnessed the benefits of moving people around more efficiently. Today, most global cities have extensive subway networks or are in the process of building them. In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, for example, are both developing subways. Other cities, such as Singapore, are extending existing systems and also creating new shared public transport options like a high-speed rail link to Malaysia. 1 z The rise of technology Besides public transport, emerging technology-based ride-sharing services are gaining traction. As of February 2018, for example, Singapore-based Grab dominates the market in South-east Asia, boasting 2.3m drivers in 168 cities across eight countries. 2 Ride-sharing companies are also keenly interested in driverless vehicles, a highly competitive market, with global brands such as Google and Volvo among those developing this new technology. emerging technologies. Intelligent automation and data sharing are among the most important technology trends today, says Stephen McDonald, the general manager of strategic initiatives at Transurban. The Melbourne-based company has about 1,500 employees that manage and develop urban toll road networks in Australia and North America. z Underlying the rapid rise of new types of transportation is the use of technology. From apps to connected and automated vehicles, the opportunities of greater mobility often begin with the use of The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited

4 Road bumps A big challenge in unlocking the potential for technology-enabled mobility, however, is an enabling regulatory and commercial environment, says Mr McDonald. With regard to automated vehicles, for example, there is an initial period of scepticism. Occasional accidents and data breaches during trials certainly don t help people overcome such feelings. Sometimes it is not even the fault of the autonomous vehicle, but safety groups often raise concerns with regard to reported numbers of accidents. 3 Following from this, there are regulatory concerns. Policymakers are often hesitant to approve unknown technologies, such as automated vehicles, for safety reasons. Our vision in public transport is to make it as timely for the commuter as private transport, in order to overcome current capacity constraints and reduce the need for road infrastructure, says Tan Kok Yam, deputy secretary in the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, Prime Minister s Office, Singapore, and adds that the government hopes to reduce the need for road vehicles. We think driverless technology will support this vision, but we will have to implement the technology at a sensible pace The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2018

5 It takes just one freak accident for the public to lose trust in the technology. Regulations tend to lag technology developments, with private-sector companies forging ahead. By 2050, Mr McDonald believes every vehicle (passenger, freight and commercial) will be able to monitor and analyse its own performance. But how to create a platform for sharing that data given privacy and security issues remains unclear. Hence, regulatory challenges loom large in the future development of unlocking mobility. Drone technology is another example of a potential mobility improvement that is inhibited by regulations. Although drones may not yet be able to transport people, they can potentially be used to ship products and avoid people having to physically deliver goods or visit stores, as illustrated by trials by Amazon.com, an American e-commerce giant. In Australia, the city of Brisbane, Queensland, has pioneered the use of drone technology, allowing a trial in city parks in December z 4 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited

6 A long road ahead What is the problem we are trying to solve?, Mr McDonald asks rhetorically, citing the high rate of urbanisation in Australia where Transurban is mostly active. Transurban believes that public transport and shared mobility solutions, coupled with private roads and the ubiquity of sensors, can contribute to unlocking mobility in cities. But Mr McDonald reckons most cities are only just starting to plan integrated transport solutions. We would like to see seamless integration of all modes, including roads, in smart city visions, adding that ultimately it is about how data is shared and protected among different players in an integrated market. By 2050 Mr McDonald believes the social and regulatory challenges will be overcome because the benefits will be clear. We will see technology maturing and have an increasingly intelligent mixed fleet of manual and automated vehicles on the road, predicts Mr McDonald. Anything currently holding it up in terms of regulation and data security will have been resolved. z 4 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2018

7 From roads to data sharing Transurban is actively working with public transport operators to better understand automation, improve traffic flows and facilitate progress to achieve safety and efficiency. The company is developing its network and managing it through the use of technology and working with local governments to improve existing roads in Australia and the US. For example, it combines high-end technology and safety features such as automatic incident detection and lane-control signage as well as an innovative dynamic-pricing structure to maintain free-flowing travel. At the same time, Mr McDonald believes that interconnectivity of all transport data between privately owned vehicles and public transport is a key component to more efficiency. You can t have everyone using the roads, surmises Mr McDonald. z The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited

8 Key takeaways Underlying the rapid rise of new types of transportation is the use of technology, ranging from apps to connected and automated vehicles. Regulatory challenges loom large in unlocking the potential for technologyenabled mobility as policy-makers can be hesitant to approve emerging concepts, such as autonomous vehicles and drones. Looking towards the future, data-sharing and the protection of that information are keys to more efficient and sustainable mobility solutions. 6 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2018

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