Building a Strategic Road Map
Designing a strategic road map is a fundamental first step—but one that too many organizations ignore, usually in the interests of trying to accelerate the process. As a result, those responsible for making key decisions often have insufficient evidence with which to validate their choices. And in projects like these, which involve so many stakeholders, this omission can prove fatal.
- Define value—Because most public transportation systems are not fully commercial, self-funding ventures, new structures should incorporate an evaluation framework that reflects public service value, as well as the shareholder value methods more appropriate for private entities. The key here is to determine what the scheme’s end users value most highly, as well as what will deliver optimum value for the organization.
- Explore options—This approach should encompass people, processes and technology—and proceed in harmony with a solutions design for the business organization and operations. Critically, the design should include clearly defined specifications for both current and future fare management solutions so that organizations can move forward in the knowledge that they are well-positioned to manage developments in fare media technology and security, as well as constantly evolving customer demands.
- Develop strategy—To avoid threats to their business, organizations must take actions beyond merely selecting a strategy, and instead move to fully enable that strategy by developing detailed implementation plans and operational frameworks to support success. Strong governance models are crucial. In fact, they are an ongoing necessity, from the early stages of bringing together different viewpoints and coming up with a workable long-term strategy, all the way through delivery to the actual operation.
Platform Services
The technologies that can help satisfy travelers’ as they clamor for speed and convenience are constantly evolving, but capturing the opportunity they present is not straightforward—largely because the business case and commercial structures that could accommodate these technologies have yet to crystallize.
What’s more, while technologies hold tremendous potential, they cannot help transport authorities avoid the big issues that underlie any fare management initiative: Customer convenience; accessibility and social inclusion; operator revenue assurance; and trust.
Sustainability
Transport authorities and operators are coming under mounting pressure to deliver a sustainable transport system—a tough proposition given short-term pressures on cost, capacity and winning the next franchise, pressures that intensify in an economic downturn. The good news is that well-designed fare management systems can make a significant contribution to tackling both short-term challenges and the longer-term goal of sustainability, thanks largely to the sophisticated customer relationship management that they enable.
By making public transport more convenient to use, such systems capture more users, reducing the carbon footprint of each passenger kilometer. This is generally better for the environment—a key goal for practically all the transport authorities and operators Accenture works with.