Fare Management for High Performance— a strategic approach to ...

For the first time in human history
more than half the world’s people
live in cities. As the conduit to services
and employment for the vast mass
of these populations, urban transport
systems are critical to economic
growth and social inclusion. Yet
maintaining mobility in rapidly
growing and steadily decentralizing
urban environments is becoming more
and more difficult—especially as
governments come under mounting
pressure to reduce vehicle emissions.
These challenges assume still greater
urgency in uncertain economic times.
A global downturn can change travel
patterns, of course, and constrained
credit conditions could temporarily
delay investments. But while the
impetus to sustainability may also
temporarily weaken, investments in
land transport are by definition longterm.
And the drivers of long-term
change—technological, environmental
and customer—are just too strong.
Moreover, as in the private sector,
economic adversity provides a strong
incentive for transport authorities and
operators to boost competitiveness
and achieve high performance through
improved cost management and better
customer service.
The providers of land transport cannot
hope to meet long-term objectives by
just doing “more of the same”. Passengers
simply won’t stand for it. Now used to
swifter, more personalized service in so
many aspects of their daily lives, they are
demanding the same sort of premium
treatment from transport providers. New
levels of convenience and connectivity
to help them make the best use of their
time are at the top of travelers’ agendas.
But although transport operators
probably touch more people on a daily
basis than any other urban entity, few
really know their customers or how to
connect with them—not least because
most fare collection systems are still
anonymous and cash-based.
Electronic fare collection, by contrast,
facilitates mutually beneficial
connectivity. Equipped with “smart”
(electronic) media, passengers and
drivers enjoy swifter, simpler, safer
travel. While automated account
management provides operators with
the detailed, granular view of traveler
activity, trends and mobility behavior
that can enable service improvements,
increase customer satisfaction, drive
revenues—and build high performance
in today’s turbulent markets.
That’s not all.
Automated, integrated and interoperable
fare collection—the Accenture Fare
Management Solution—promises to
revolutionize both public transport and
private road use for travelers, operators
and transport authorities.
A truly interoperable electronic payment
capability—both multi-modal and multi-
operator—can provide an extended
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