Even as it resurges, air travel faces new risks and regulatory changes that will necessitate more resilient airport management. In this Viewpoint, we propose a four-step approach to help airport executives handle emerging risks by making their operations more resistant to disruptions and better prepared for any future.  HIGH-STAKES RISKS & POTENTIAL DISRUPTORS 

When Arthur D. Little (ADL) first set up its Future of Mobility Lab in 2010, there was much optimism that by now, we would have made significant progress toward the goal of more sustainable, resilient, safe, inclusive, efficient, and human-centric mobility systems in our cities. Technological developments — particularly the rapid advances of digitalization, connectivity, and automation — promised the ability to deliver tailored, diverse, and convenient mobility solutions to customers that would be attractive enough to prompt a major shift away from private cars.

Changing gear in the journey toward sustainable mobility

The right moment to revisit fare models & help transport authorities cope with challenges

How car sharing can deliver on its potential in an ecosystem play

The digitalization of the economy is profoundly changing trade. Traditional retailers must transform to survive reduced foot traffic and sales. Postal operators that have not yet outsourced their branches face the same problems as retailers, amplified by the progressive disappearance of mail, the growth of virtual banking, and the digitalization of a substantial proportion of counter operations. A deep transformation is necessary.

How innovation unlocks economic opportunities in a volatile world

Performance around punctuality (and regularity) has not made enough progress in reaching customers’ high standards in spite of many programs. Similarly, the occurrence of other adverse events — faulty passenger information, defective seats — and the absence of prompt, satisfactory treatment of such issues generate disappointment, which may offset any positive customer experiences. In this Viewpoint, we reflect on the levers transport operators should put in place to better prevent, identify, and control operational incidents — and boost customer satisfaction.

Most transportation systems and companies have defined elements of their sustainability strategy and launched initiatives related to improving efficiency and strengthening resilience. However, we believe these concepts — sustainability, efficiency, and resilience (SER) — should be considered not in isolation but with a holistic and integrated view.

A pragmatic step to enable MaaS

Setting the scene It has been said that diseases shape cities, from the development of urban sewers in the 19th century as a response to cholera outbreaks, to the COVID-19 pandemic today, which has acted as a watershed for city authorities to reflect and reset mobility visions and strategies. Similarly, sustainability is now becoming a truly central and urgent issue as the adverse impacts of human activity on the environment become ever clearer. The mobility systems of the world’s cities therefore need to adapt rapidly to become more environmentally sustainable, more resilient, and adaptable in the face of shocks and discontinuities. They should be centered on the needs of human beings rather than being determined primarily by their technological infrastructure. Becoming more sustainable, resilient, and human-centric should be a central ambition of every urban mobility system today.

Beyond the hype, where the true value lies

Transport authorities and mass transit operators should consider dematerialization of ticketing for increased resilience and to pave the way for Mobility-as-a-Service in a post-Covid world

Turning the crisis into an opportunity to accelerate towards more sustainable, resilient and human-centric urban mobility systems

Saying that the world is undergoing a fast-paced transformation is not only stating the obvious, but also an understatement. Traditional business models and go-to-market strategies are challenged, and often even rendered obsolete, by rapidly evolving customer needs. In many cases, industry convergence has led to new entrants that have caused major disruptions to many established ecosystems using novel, more agile, business and operating models. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Turning roadblocks into opportunities

The mobility landscape is being completely reshaped, and urban mobility poses a massive challenge to metropolitan authorities and businesses as well as great opportunities. The global demand for passenger mobility in urbanized areas is set to double by 2050. Meanwhile, the number of individual journeys taken on a daily basis has grown massively since 2015, thereby putting increased pressure on existing urban mobility systems.

With significant venture capital injected, bike sharing has been booming rapidly in China since the second half of 2016, and already looks to be impacting the future development of the urban mobility ecosystem. Arthur D. Little considers the market dynamics and competition landscape, as well as some key takeaways for different stakeholders, including city authorities, the existing bicycle supply chain, and the new entrant bike-sharing companies themselves. 

Airport parking activities are an important contributor to the commercial revenue streams of airports. Airports must therefore offer attractive portfolios of parking products at the right prices to contribute to the overall experience of the airport passenger.

Today, 64% of all travel happens within urban environments, and the total amount of urban kilometers traveled is expected to triple by 2050. A similar trend is anticipated in terms of urban goods distribution, with e-commerce being the fastest-growing driver of urban deliveries, which also impacts the length and fragmentation of urban logistics flows. As a growing number of vehicles in urban areas implies increased congestion, air pollution and noise, which negatively impact traffic safety, quality of life and urban economic competitiveness, more and more cities are experiencing issues related to last mile delivery of goods.

Airports, PT stations, railway stations, stadiums, highways, clinics and hospitals are diversifying their activities in retail and services to secure sustainable new growth relays and enhance customer experience. The need for additional value creation and customer experience improvement is leading infrastructure operators to redesign their commercial and services strategies. Airport hubs are already changing infrastructures to the “airport city” concept – a destination in itself.