Mobility Matters Daily #100 - Data collection, K-pop, and nuance
Plus data on where to go trainspotting, and one thing for you to do today
Good morning friend.
I guess that now we are 100 issues in, then we should do something special. But like most other chaps, I am not one for big celebrations. But I will say thank you for sticking with these daily insights for the last 6 months. There appears to be more people reading, and more people responding than ever before, so thank you so much for all of your support. In the spirit of entreprenuership that I mentioned yesterday, I will continue to experiment with new content and new ideas, and I would love your feedback on all of them.
If you want something to celebrate with, here is a lovely cake that I found whilst sleuthing the internet. No allergy information sadly, and I think its for someone else. But its cake.
Data collection from cars is only profitable sometimes
Connected cars have been around for the better part of 10 years now. The data streamed in terms of operations, condition of the vehicle, servicing schedules, and how vehicles are driven covers billions of miles driven, and billions of hours of running. When the likes of Wejo, a connected vehicle start-up, start partnering with Microsoft and Palantir, you should realise that this isn’t an emerging market. Its a mature but closed one.
Connected vehicles have several value propositions. Immediately, it is individualised targetting of servicing and insurance offerings (clue: insurance companies don’t offer black boxes to make your insurance premiums cheaper). But as planners, we focus on shared value, or how connected cars can offer insights to make the system run more efficiently. This is hard to monetise, despite the work of the likes of Zenzic to de-risk the likes of data sharing, and providing test beds for new technologies.
K-pop is saving tuk-tuk drivers
Never thought I’d see K-pop and tuk-tuks in the same article, to be honest. But welcome to the crazy world of online activism. As part of a wider movement by K-pop fans to spend on smaller businesses, tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok are seeing their earnings recover from the pandemic. Fans are paying for banners of their favourite stars to be displayed on tuk-tuks, which are being driven around, and fans on street can pay to have their pictures taken with the banners. Simple, doesn’t sound like it should work, but its money to drivers who have had their incomes decimated by the pandemic.
A great example is the Tuk Up service. This is simply a Facebook page that does part advertisement for drivers, part campaigning for fans to donate to tuk-tuk drivers, part - and there is no other way of saying this - saying stick it to capitalists. K-pop has an undercurrent of activism with a strong social side to it, and maybe it is now one to watch for us transport planners. Perhaps the association between music and transport being confined to the cover of Abbey Road is finally coming to an end.
By talking to people, you realise absolutist views contain nuance
Reading this article on the views of the blind and partially sighted on e-scooters in The Times by Mike Bell (its behind a paywall, sadly) reminded me of something. Absolutist views are easy to shout, but hide the nuance of people’s experiences and perceptions.
The Pave the Way report on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Disabled Persons by Transport for All was a perfect example of this. The nuance explored in this report was amazing to see, and brilliantly explored. This is why good public engagement on schemes and plans is vital.
Stat of the Day
If you want to go train spotting, head to Berlin and Prague. These cities have more kilometres of railway per 1000 square kilometres than any other cities in the EU - at 698 and 491 respectively. What strikes me about this map is the dominance of the Northern France - Benelux - Germany corridor in terms of railways.
Data Source: Eurostat
If you don’t do anything else today, do this…
Read Greg Marsden’s and Jillian Anable’s article in Sustainability on the scale of system change needed to achieve climate change targets for transport. It’s sobering.