Digital Transport Reference Model

Transport organisations are witnessing exponential growth in data as physical transport networks are increasingly digitised. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge as organisations find new ways to optimise and integrate services through digital networks, while also struggling with the mammoth task of harnessing all the data that gets produced.

To meet this challenge, transport agencies are focusing on transforming the core of many of their technology assets and enterprise systems which also carry high investment costs and implementation timeframes. These core technology investments are in many cases necessary but will come under increased budget pressure going forward.

At the same time, there are many opportunities to invest in technology out in the network where transport data is generated and distributed to customers. With numerous initiatives underway there is a greater need to coordinate these investments to get the most value out of the data, unlock synergies, and ultimately support the quality of data that is analysed and processed in core systems.

This paper, developed in partnership with Cisco, considers an approach to transport technology investment and coordination that focuses on linking and coordinating investments in the network to ultimately support improved decision making at the core. This is referred to as an “outside-in” approach. It includes a number of key recommendations that can assist transport organisations to better harness the value of their data and maximise benefits from their transport technology investments.