Tech leaders, SMEs, start-ups and disrupters challenged to demonstrate how to digitally connect the North of England’s transport networks and incentivise shared, greener, and more active forms of travel as Transport for the North launches Innovation Partnership Procurement.
Transport for the North (TfN), the Sub-national Transport Body tasked with making the case for strategic transport improvements across the North of England, has today (21 October 2020) announced a new procurement opportunity. The Innovation Partnership initiative is part of plans to explore the development of a ‘Smart North Ecosystem’ where smart technology would digitally connect the region’s travel actors – including transport networks, ticketing systems and mobility solutions – to incentivise the use of public transport and other forms of greener, shared and active travel for passengers.
Funded as part of TfN’s £150m Integrated and Smart Travel (IST) programme, the Innovation Partnership Procurement invites suppliers from around the globe to put forward expressions of interest to demonstrate new and near-to-market technology, with a view to conducting demonstrators and pilots before the end of this financial year (March 2021). Grant funding is on offer to innovators to develop their initial ideas – with further funding to upscale and bring solutions into operation dependent on the success of demonstrator activity.
Jeremy Acklam, TfN’s Integrated and Smart Travel Director said:
“We are excited to be launching our search for partners to join Transport for the North in revolutionising how we use public transport across the region.
“Our vision for a Smart North Ecosystem is bold and transformative. The many different travel actors across the North’s deregulated transport networks need to be better connected and able to work together to deliver the enhanced and more seamless travel experience we know passengers want. I am confident there are people out there with ideas for smart technology solutions that could deliver this, and we are looking forward to seeing how innovators respond to this challenge.”
Transport for the North envisions that a Smart North Ecosystem could transform travel in the region and deliver benefits for passengers including enabling capped fares and integrated travel offers between different modes and operators; on-demand services and support for the unbanked; as well as financial and other reward schemes to incentivise the use of public transport and shared, active travel instead of private cars.
Importantly, it is seen as key to helping the North’s Local Transport Authorities achieve crucial socio-economic objectives – including reduction in carbon emissions, promotion of healthy living and supporting economic growth – that are not so easily met by traditional public transport ticketing measures alone.
Suppliers’ proposals will be evaluated on accessibility and attractiveness for passengers and operators; commercial sustainability; capability to use existing channels for fare collection and communication; and crucially their scalability to all modes of transport across the North of England.
A first round of innovators will be invited to partner with TfN in November based on initial responses, before a further selection process in December, ahead of demonstrator activity in 2021.
Jeremy continued:
“The manufacturing industry is currently undergoing a similar process of using smart technology to interconnect and automate existing processes and systems – known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0 – which serves as a template for the potentially transformative effect this type of innovation could have in the transport sector – a Fourth Transport Revolution. We want to be forward-looking and ambitious in our approach a so our Innovation Partnership calls on the world’s innovators to deliver something revolutionary and suited to the North of England.”
To date, through the Department-for-Transport-funded IST programme and in partnership with Local Transport Authorities and operators, TfN has delivered smartcards and flexi season tickets for rail passengers; open-data driven enhancement to online and app-based travel information and is currently progressing contactless payments across all modes of public transport. Outcomes from the innovation initiative may be used to inform business case submissions to the Department for Transport and de-risk later phases of the programme.
More information, including how to apply to take part in the procurement activity, can be found on Transport for the North’s website.
