The transportation industry is entering a post-digital era where emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, extended reality, distributed ledgers, and quantum computing will transform operations and customer experiences. These technologies provide opportunities in first-mile/last-mile services, seamless convenience tailored to customer preferences, improved passenger safety and data security, and optimized asset management. To take advantage, companies must strategically choose opportunities, define their role in the new landscape, and prepare employees and systems for technological change.

1. TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY VISION 2019
TRANSIT IN
TRANSITION

2. The future is closer
than you think…
The transportation industry is entering a post-digital era.
It’s an era in which more transportation organizations have
an understanding of the digital transformations ahead of
them than do not. A time in which digital capabilities that
once set companies apart are now table stakes.
What distinguishes winners today is not their technologies,
but how they use their technologies to meet the needs
and expectations of customers, employees and business
partners. In this regard, traditional digital technologies still
play a critical role. But new technologies—Distributed
Ledgers, Artificial intelligence (AI), Extended Reality and
Quantum Computing (DARQ) are gaining ground. Fast.
94% of transportation executives are experimenting with
distributed ledgers, AI or extended reality solutions.

3. For some,
it’s already here.
Hong Kong’s subway is maintained by AI—or more
specifically, an algorithm that automatically assigns
10,000 workers to more than 2,500 engineering tasks
each week. The solution allows MTR Corporation,
the subway’s owner, to achieve cost savings of
$800,000 per year.1
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) recently completed a
proof of concept designed to improve workplace safety.
The solution, based on a blockchain-based credentials
management system, ensures workers at the company’s
construction sites have received proper training.2
MTR and SBB are two companies showing what is
possible in the post-digital frontier. Others will join
their ranks as AI, extended reality, distributed ledgers
and even quantum computing mature.

4. TRANSPORTATION IN
THE POST-DIGITAL AGE
When DARQ technologies are applied in innovative and
combinatorial ways, we will see a fundamental shift—not only
in how transportation services are managed and secured,
but also in how travelers experience and navigate the world.
68% of transportation executives believe the combination
of DARQ technologies will transform their organizations
extensively over the next three years.
Four opportunities hold particular potential.

5. OPPORTUNITY 1
First-to-last-mile service

6. Industry players are eager to deliver highly
customized services at the moment of
their customers’ choosing. This includes
first-mile and last-mile services.
New technologies are poised to help them
achieve the personalization and just-in-
time mobility services customers seek.
AI opens up opportunities in multiple areas—
from route optimization to congestion mitigation
to pedestrian prediction.
Extended reality solutions can help trip planners
visualize alternate routes and passengers find their
way through virtual stations prior to their arrival.

7. Industry players are eager to deliver highly
customized services at the moment of
their customers’ choosing. This includes
first-mile and last-mile services.
New technologies are poised to help them
achieve the personalization and just-in-
time mobility services customers seek.
Autonomous vehicles, built on Internet of
Things (IoT) sensors, AI and augmented reality
solutions, can provide economical and convenient
transportation services for passengers looking
to travel to and from transit hubs.
of transportation executives agree that integrating
customized services and real-time delivery will usher
in the next wave of competitive advantage.
85%

8. OPPORTUNITY 2
Seamless convenience…

9. When customers use public transportation,
they are more than just passengers.
They are unique markets of one—individuals
looking to enhance their travel experience.
With advances in technology, transportation
companies can:
Streamline payment. At China’s Shenzhen
Metro’s Futian Station, passengers use
WeChat’s blockchain-based invoicing system to
view and pay for digital tickets without cash.3
Make customer service more responsive.
Deutsche Bahn uses an AI-based chatbot to fast-
track text responses to customer queries related
to ticketing and schedules, thereby freeing human
agents to focus on more complex requests.4

10. When customers use public transportation,
they are more than just passengers.
They are unique markets of one—individuals
looking to enhance their travel experience.
With advances in technology, transportation
companies can:
Expand and transform loyalty programs with new
offers and incentives. Personalized playlists of
music, recommendations and tickets for destination
attractions, and discounts for products or services
available along the way can all create revenue-
generating opportunities where none existed before.

11. …based on
customer
preferences
Curating those individualized, just-in-time
experiences begins with a granular understanding
of customers’ preferences and behaviors.
Advanced customer analytics provide great insights
into what customers want and expect from the
transit companies with which they engage.
Now, transportation organizations can augment
those insights with digital demographics. Technology
interactions—and the digital fingerprints they leave
behind—provide valuable information about how
customers prefer to interact in the always-on world.

12. 76% of transportation executives agree that
digital identities offer a more powerful way
to understand customers.
82% believe that digital demographics give their
organizations a new way to identify market
opportunities for unmet customer needs.
70%
report that digital demographics are
expanding the number of ways they can
deliver products and services.

13. OPPORTUNITY 3
Passenger safety and
data/network security

14. In transportation, the issue of security has two
facets: the security and safety of passengers;
and the security of customer and network data
that is the lifeblood of a transit organization’s
operations. Transportation organizations must
industrialize both.
In the area of passenger safety, video analytics,
computer vision and AI can be combined
to detect everything from aggressive facial
expressions and body postures to suspicious
objects in stations or along railway corridors.
AI can also be applied to detect cyberattacks,
malware and suspicious user identities.

15. In transportation, the issue of security has two
facets: the security and safety of passengers;
and the security of customer and network data
that is the lifeblood of a transit organization’s
operations. Transportation organizations must
industrialize both.
But the convergence of IT, OT and IoT devices
are creating new vulnerabilities. The arrival of
autonomous vehicles into the multi-modal
transportation network will provide millions more
access points for malware or worse. It is, therefore,
essential to secure every digital asset, as well as
every connection between that asset and other digital
devices or the infrastructure and assets it helps run.
agree that organizations need to rethink their
approach to security in a way that defends not
just themselves, but their ecosystems.
85%

16. OPPORTUNITY 4
Asset management
and optimization

17. New technologies make it possible for
transportation companies to rethink how
they manage and maintain their assets and
operations. The possibilities are endless.
AI, big data analytics, machine learning and the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can be combined
to optimize transit schedules and recalibrate
schedules and routes if a disruption occurs.
IoT sensors and devices enable real-time
monitoring and diagnostics of asset performance.
Combining AI, advanced analytics, machine learning
and IIoT takes the guesswork and human errors
out of preventative and predictive maintenance.

18. Metro de Madrid’s AI-based ventilation system
ensures good air quality in its stations—and
has reduced ventilation energy costs by 25%5
New technologies make it possible for
transportation companies to rethink how
they manage and maintain their assets and
operations. The possibilities are endless.
Extended reality solutions allow employees
to practice repairs in virtual surroundings and
even receive real-time instruction through,
for example, VR goggles.
Quantum computing, still in its infancy,
will give operators even more capacity to
process millions, if not billions, of sensor
readings and data inputs every second.
25%

19. Getting
on track
Emerging technologies are creating new
opportunities for transportation organizations
looking to improve their operations, business
performance and customer experiences. To take
advantage of these opportunities, companies
must set the foundation for the transformational
change that lies ahead. This means:

20. Choosing the
right destination
Success means carefully choosing
the opportunities to target—and,
just as important, the ones not to target.
ASK
What can we do to make our passenger
experiences better, safer and more convenient?
What can we do to boost our organizational performance?
What will allow us to achieve and sustain
competitive advantage?

21. Defining what
it means to be
post-digital
Post-digital companies have the chance to bypass the
competition by changing the way mobility solutions and
transportation operations are designed and delivered.
ASK
What role are we prepared to play in a post-digital world
characterized by on-demand, momentary markets?
Which ecosystem partners will help us change the industry?
What data/network risks do we face as a consequence
of moving into the post-digital era?
Are we adequately prepared to address them?

22. Preparing for
what’s next
Distributed ledgers, AI, extended reality and even
quantum computing are poised to drive the post-digital
wave of innovation and breakthrough business outcomes.
But they also expose transit networks to new risks.
ASK
Do we have the solid SMAC foundation we need to pivot to the New?
Which emerging technologies will offer us and our
passengers the greatest value?
How can we shore up our data security and governance
models to mitigate risks?
What can we do to prepare our employees and customers
for the technological change that is coming?

23. About the
research
Each year, the Accenture Technology Vision
team partners with Accenture Research to pinpoint the
emerging IT developments that will have the greatest
impact on organizations in the coming years. In 2019,
the process included a global survey of 6,672 business
and IT leaders—including 130 transportation executives
in 12 countries. This report’s findings are based on
analyses of their responses.
Read the report:
www.accenture.com/TransportationTechVision

24. Sources
1. Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan, “The World’s Best Train System
Is Powered By An Advanced AI Boss,” Gizmodo, July 7, 2014.
2. Anna Baydakova, “Swiss Railway Tests Blockchain Identities
for Workplace Safety Boost,” Coindesk, November 22, 2018.
3. Luke Thompson, “Shenzhen gets on the blockchain train,”
Asia Times, March 21, 2019.
4. Maren Reinsch, “German rail operator use AI to fast-track
responses to customer queries,” IBM, January 9, 2019.
5. “Accenture Helps Metro de Madrid Balance Energy Efficiency
and Passenger Comfort with AI-Based Self-Learning Ventilation
System,” Accenture Press Release, February 19, 2019.