National Express Transit Blog

Whether you know them as driverless cars or autonomous vehicles, these high-tech mobility options are set to become the next big trend in transportation. However, there are lot of hurdles to overcome, not the least of which is gaining the trust of not just regulators, but also the general public. With some of the big names in technology and auto manufacturing getting into the driverless car game, the number of autonomous car projects that are either under development or are being actively tested on city streets is growing, but are vehicles equipped with autonomous driving technology really safe enough to put the lives of humans in their virtual hands? 

In contrast with the antics of the cast of Taxi, fleet management is so much more than simply dispatching vehicles and drivers when needed, and filling them up with gas when empty, and it requires a wide range of skills to keep all of the various facets of a fleet's operation running smoothly.  

Public transport, and transportation in general, is a challenging endeavor in urban areas. As certain city populations grow, and as their economic bases shift and evolve and their housing sector adjusts, even more vehicles are entering the roads each day. One of the effective solutions to decreasing the pressure on city streets and highways is maintaining a robust public transportation system, but modern urban areas bring a host of challenges to the table for transit agencies, some of which can be mitigated by proper and forward-thinking transit management, and others which will need to come from the municipal level on down.

Do you find yourself asking, “Why is technology so important today?” The answer is simple: technology is everywhere and it’s integrated into everything that we do.

So why is technology especially important in the public transportation industry?

The most successful transit agencies across the country place large emphasis on safety, people, and rider experience. In order to achieve this and truly take a customer-centric approach to your transit operations, it is necessary to leverage technology and use transportation management software to help better serve customers and make transit more accessible to the community.

Public transportation systems bring many benefits to individuals, communities, and the local economy, but all too often, they don't get near the amount of attention that they should. While much of the media's attention is focused on higher profile stories such as autonomous vehicles and the launch of the latest Tesla electric car model, public transportation and fixed route transit services continue to be much more efficient and beneficial systems of getting people from one place to another, which often gets overlooked in the news cycle's desire for shiny new things.