Page 47 - Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities

28 Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities Questions to Be Addressed 29

rience whether you like it or not, the question is will it be a good one and will
it be one that you have engineered?

Are Transportation Customers Getting the Best Value for Their Money?

This question relates to a combination of travel speed, travel time, reliability,
price, and levels of comfort. This could also be defined as a traveler stress index.
Asking the question involves a comparison between different modes to deter-
mine price, reliability, and overall travel time. This may well reveal that certain
sections of the community are not getting a fair deal.

How Do Transportation Customers Perceive Service Levels?
This question is typically answered through a range of surveys that take snap-
shots at specific times and locations. An alternative approach to asking this
question, in the light of current data science capabilities, would be to ask this
question across the entire city on a continuous basis. It is obvious that user
sentiment changes with time and location and with events in the transportation
system such as construction and service delays. Given that user expectations are
being set by organizations not involved in transportation, such as Netflix and
Walmart, it is also important to ask this question within the context of how well
we are doing compared to other people. Not just other transportation people
but how well are we doing compared to other people who are influencing cus-
tomers. If your customer perception rating drops below that of an airline or an
insurance company, then perhaps you should be worried.

What Impact Will Mobility as a Service Have on the Transportation System?
The impact of services such as Uber on society and traveler behavior is already
clear. In many states the number of citations for driving under the influence
have been significantly reduced because of the availability of the Uber service.
As this is extended into a wider portfolio of options, then what impact will this
have on our transportation system? This involves other questions such as how
should transportation investments be targeted in the future and how can they
be fully coordinated with private sector investments to achieve a portfolio of
services.

How Can Travelers Make the Best Use of the Transportation System?
Good digital video recorders can be purchased at Walmart for less than $300.
Purchasers who take them home would be absolutely appalled if they did not
have a user manual in the box. In contrast, multibillion-dollar transportation
systems are created in cities and very often don’t have an adequate user manual.
Asking this question leads to additional questions such as, What information