Nine in ten people would prefer better-connected public transport over driving in Bangkok, new study reveals

Overwhelming majority would accept increased road taxes to fund better-connected public transport

• New Hitachi Rail research finds 91% of people in Bangkok would use public transport more often if they had a single effective digitised transport app
  
• Most important travel factors for Bangkok residents are journey speed (94%) and comfort (91%)
• In boost for Bangkok’s decarbonisation strategy, 85% of respondents would be willing to pay for better connected public transport services via road charging

Research by Hitachi Rail reveals that over nine in ten Bangkok residents (91%) would use public transport over driving if it were better-connected. The study also finds that Bangkok residents would support funding the digital enhancement of its public transport network via increased taxes on private transport (85%).

The research was conducted by leading independent consumer research company, Savanta ComRes and investigated over 8,000 peoples’ attitudes in eight major global cities: Washington D.C., Toronto, London, Paris, Dusseldorf, Turin, Dubai and Bangkok. Hitachi Rail commissioned the research to better understand the push and pull factors for using public transport and how they interact with Hitachi Rail’s smart, digital solutions which the business is rolling out to support cities around the world.

The research provides useful insights for transport planners seeking to understand how to increase public transport usage. In Bangkok, people emphasised the importance of journey speed (94%) and comfort (91%) as major factors that influence their travel decision. Equally, overcrowding is seen as a major barrier (61%) to using public transport, but 89% say they would use it more if they had a way of avoiding crowded services. Bangkok has also seen a significant change in how people travel as a result of the pandemic, with 82% of residents saying that they drive more than they used to. Nonetheless, 83% of residents expect how they travel to change again in the future, providing an opportunity to boost the long-term usage of public transport.

Bangkok also stands out as having very high support for funding a digitally better-connected public transport system (91% support as compare to global average of 75%). Practically, 90% of respondents would welcome the introduction of a single, universal travel app that can highlight all the different public and private hire transports available, enabling passengers to effectively plan and pay for their multi-modal journeys. Four in five respondents would also be more likely to use public transport if they could access live travel updates.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Ludmil Neykov, Chief Digital Officer, Hitachi Rail, said:

“Like many global cities, Bangkok faces a decarbonisation challenge: how to encourage passengers out of cars and on to its cleaner, greener public transport network? The good news is the appetite is there, with nine in ten Bangkok residents (91%) saying they would choose to use public transport over driving if it were better-connected and more convenient. Respondents were also clear that they would like to see this digitally delivered via universal travel app (90%). Our challenge now is to work with cities like Bangkok to deliver our digital transport solutions that can create the seamless, reliable public transport that passengers want.”

Our Smart Mobility vision

As a global leader in transport and technology, Hitachi Rail’s vision for smart mobility is to digitise and optimise every part of the journey across different types of public transport. In July 2022, Hitachi Rail launched its first smart mobility project in Genoa, Italy, digitally connecting public and private hire transport across the entire city. Using technology from Hitachi’s new smart mobility suite called Lumada Intelligent Mobility Management, trial-users had access to the 360Pass smart phone app which enabled them to plan their multi-modal journey with live-time service updates, including information on the crowding levels of incoming bus services. By placing over 7,000 Bluetooth sensors on services and at stops around the city, passengers could also travel using hands-free ticketing, with the app simply calculating the best-priced multi-modal fair at the end of the day. More recently, Hitachi Rail also launched its first commercial application of this technology in Trentino.

The new suite embodies Hitachi Rail’s holistic vision for smarter mobility, incorporating solutions across three key areas: smart ticketing, mobility management and electrified mobility solutions. While the firm is known for delivering trains and rail infrastructure around the world, including the iconic Shinkansen bullet trains, the digitisation of transport systems is an

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Notes to Editors:

About the survey

• The polling was conducted by Savanta-ComRes on behalf of Hitachi Rail, and was carried out between August and September 2022.
• 8073 respondents were surveyed across eight cities; 1009 in London, 1004 in Washington D.C., 1000 in Toronto, 1002 in Paris, 1006 in Dusseldorf, 1020 in Turin, 1021 in Dubai, and 1011 in Bangkok
• The respondents were 50% male, 49% female (Proportions are rounded)
• For more information on the sample, please contact Ed.brown@hitachirail.com

Better-Connected: About Hitachi’s Lumada Intelligent Mobility Management suite

Lumada Intelligent Mobility Management is Hitachi’s new suite of smart mobility solutions for cities, transport operators and passengers.

The suite represents Hitachi Rail’s 360º vision for smarter mobility, incorporating solutions across three key areas:

- smart ticketing (including 360Pass)

- flow management for people and vehicles; and

- electrified mobility solutions

Using the suite’s 360Motion platform, a real time analytics tool that creates a digital twin of a city’s entire transportation network, operators can connect, scale and optimise any combination of these services. As a flexible platform, 360Motion can integrate technology from any existing provider, or draw from the range of solutions within the wider Hitachi group.

By offering ‘as a service’ business models to customers, Hitachi Rail aims to make it easier than ever for cities, operators and passengers to accelerate the transformation to more sustainable transportation.

For more information, please visit: Smart Mobility | Hitachi Rail