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I still remember when we overlaid mobile phone location data onto what we thought was a complete picture of rail demand. Traditional models told a familiar story: home to work, work to home, AM and PM peaks anchored to major employment centres. But they were incomplete. What appeared was a set of consistent, high-volume movements that didn't line up with recognised peaks. Short-duration, off-peak trips clustered around health facilities, colleges, and logistics employment. Tr

I’ve had many enjoyable commissions auditing air-rail systems around the world.  The very first signal that tells me whether a space understands passengers comes at a specific moment: the threshold out of controlled arrivals. This is where uncertainty spikes. Does the space anticipate the passenger's anxious question before they have to ask it? In an interchange that understands people, the environment answers immediately: "You're doing the right thing. You're still on track.

In 2022, a driverless Cruise car blocked a San Francisco fire engine for 25 seconds. The vehicle had stopped next to a bin lorry that was double-parked, technically the car was "behaving as designed." A human driver would have assessed the situation and reversed a few metres to clear the path. The fire engine couldn't get through. City officials later noted the delay "slowed SFFD response to a fire that resulted in property damage and personal injuries." The AV had done the r

Your transport system is invisible to Google Picture a busy airport arrivals area, passengers in long queues for taxis right underneath a bright red "Train to City" banner. This may not seem frustrating and illogical to a transport planner but it’s the result of a breakdown in digital wayfinding and journey planning information. At base, Google Maps didn’t have the railway station anchored at the same location as the airport terminal, so it de-prioritised the rail option when

Heathrow Express is doing something most large organisations avoid. They're inviting startups and SMEs into the room where decisions get made. The Supplier Challenge on December 9th represents a deliberate shift in how premium rail services approach innovation. Rather than relying solely on traditional suppliers, The Heathrow Express team are opening the door to fresh perspectives. The timing matters. Evolution in the Airport Rail Market The rail landscape connecting London t

The data exists but rail can't use It The ORR's recent call for better data use in passenger assistance hints at a fundamental architectural flaw. Rail operators already hold massive datasets on booked assistance, station layouts, lift availability, and staffing levels. The problem is these systems don't connect. And they certainly don't adapt in real time. The failure point is the interoperability of the data and the barriers at handover between systems, between people, and