Cities Should Now Evaluate the Benefits of Municipal Transportation Operating Systems

Cities are continually responding to urban transportation challenges such as increasing levels of travel demand and the complex management of numerous modes of both public and private transportation. Compounding these challenges is the pressing need to improve transportation efficiency and sustainability.  The rising demand for passenger transportation and urban deliveries increases congestion and results in a significant impact on air quality, safety, and quality of life. While cities are taking actions to improve urban mobility, travelers are demanding a reliable and efficient transportation system that provides accurate travel information. Further, the expanding number of modes of urban mobility, such as shared micromobility, and the anticipated arrival of highly automated vehicles is increasing complexity and driving the need for real-time data to manage transportation systems efficiently.

Stakeholders in the mobility ecosystem—including automakers, mapping data companies, and technology companies—are developing solutions to address urban mobility challenges and piloting them in cities around the world. These systems could form key components of a municipal transportation operating system (MTOS) to manage and optimize future urban mobility. Besides delivering better transportation service to customers, an MTOS could provide cities with the tools to monitor mobility services and help model future system upgrades and new transportation policies.

This Guidehouse Insights Strategy Insight examines the mounting pressures on cities to provide efficient, safe, and sustainable mobility systems and considers how an MTOS could provide an effective solution. It features some of the notable pilots being conducted in various cities that develop and demonstrate the benefits these technologies offer. Recommendations are provided for how key stakeholders can benefit from the development of MTOSs and provide maximum value to cities.