How could data revolutionise transport in the UK? MPs hold first session of new inquiry
How data and technologies such as AI could be wielded to improve transport services will be the focus of the Transport Committee in the first session of its new inquiry.
Meeting details
The cross-party Committee will question experts in the field of transport technology from Exeter, Glasgow and Leeds universities about the opportunities that innovations could bring for transport providers and consumers.
Examples from recent years include how sharing data between organisations has enabled providers to model passenger movements between train routes and stations under different scenarios, and therefore improve planning services to meet demand.
Another recent example has been the introduction of ‘Mobility-as-a-Service’ – where transport providers supply real time data on movements of buses and trains that can be integrated to enable passengers to plan journeys using, for example, Google or Citymapper.
The witnesses will be asked to consider how the Government has successfully enabled innovation in the sector following its 2023 Transport Data Strategy and its 2019 Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy. Last year the Government also published its ‘Future of Transport: rural strategy’, which explained how data collected by ‘demand responsive’ bus services can be better used to plan routes between villages.
MPs will ask the witnesses about the potential risks that could arise from the utilisation of these technologies, what investments in infrastructure could be needed to fully utilise new and existing data, and what the UK could learn from best practice in other countries around the world.
This inquiry, Future of transport data, was inspired by proposals that were pitched to the Committee during its Our Future Transport campaign last year, which saw experts and academics present ideas to the MPs on what subjects they should investigate next. It builds on pitches from Milda Manomaityte of the Railway Industry Association and Nick Bromley of data technology company Matatika.