This weekend I caught a bus.
I also caught a taxi and a train.
I walked for a bit too.
Now this might sound pretty normal, because it is. But while using the various modes of transport I took a moment to realise the importance of technology in it all…
You might think a bus isn’t particularly high-tech. But consider this. Before heading to the bus stop I jumped online on my phone to see how far away it was. I used a website that tells me exactly when the next bus for my particular stop will arrive at the stop. And it’s accurate to within 10 seconds. Not only that, but the tracking system is accurate to within 10 metres.
You see, buses in London are all fitted with GPS, gyroscopes, odometer feeds and real time route layouts. This isn’t your run of the mill GPS system, it’s iBus. And it uses this full array of sensors and information to let me know whether to stay inside for a bit longer, or make my way to the stop.
A central control centre receives and processes all this data by the second. It’s an immense amount of raw, real-time data. This control centre tracks the 8,500 buses across greater London. And it then sends the processed data to my smartphone, instantaneously.
After the bus trip was the train trip. Again, not particularly high-tech, but while standing on the train I noticed a small square barcode, a QR Code, by the train door. That was interesting, as I thought QR codes were dead. QR codes are dead by the way, quite an irrelevant technology. But also by the train door was an NFC (near field communication) sign.
Luckily enough my phone has NFC, so I touched my phone to the sign and received information about CMC Markets. I wasn’t particularly interested in the marketing, but it was clear evidence that this kind of technology is slowly finding its way into the world.
My NFC experience didn’t end there.
Off the train, I jumped onto another bus and saw another sign. But this ones was a reminder that I could touch onto the bus not with my oyster card, but my PayPass debit card. Or I could use NFC on my phone if I had a connected digital wallet.
What I also neglected to mention was this second bus wasn’t your typical bus either, but a hybrid diesel-electric powered bus. It had circular LED lights and was virtually silent. It just had this faint hum, exactly what you’d expect from a futuristic bus.
It’s design is quite retro looking, which not everyone likes. But you can’t deny its genuine high-tech, built in technology.
I jumped off the bus in an area I’d never been to before. I knew where I had to go, but wasn’t sure if it was left, right or back around. In a situation like that there’s only one thing to do; whip out Google maps and go.
So with a quick search of the place I was heading to, the GPS in my phone found where I was, where I needed to be and then kindly directed me there, also letting me know how long it would take.
When I arrived, it was accurate to the minute. Scary yet reassuring.
Some time later it was time to go home. Having lived in Melbourne for a long time, I know that hailing a cab at nighttime can be a nightmare. Now in London, in an area I’d never been before, I was pretty concerned I might be stuck for a while.
Never fear, I had a couple of aces up my sleeve. I decided not to use my favourite taxi app, Uber. Instead took a new option that I’d used to great success before. It’s a similar app, Hailo. But this is specifically for London’s black cabs.
All I had to do was open the app, and it immediately located where I was. Thanks again to the GPS inside my phone. Then Hailo located the nearest available cab and told me exactly how long it would be for it to get to my location.
I confirmed I wanted a ride and the app informed me I’d be waiting for an entire six minutes for my cab.
Where this gets even better though is that the picture, name and phone number of my driver popped up, and he too had my picture pop up on his cab. That meant he knew who he was picking up and I knew who was picking me up. So no one else was going to ‘steal’ my cab. And he was going to make sure he got the right fare.
In those six minutes I was also able to watch his location on the app. I could see the cab getting closer to me and even the streets and direction he was coming from. I had the option to pay for the cab through the app on my registered card, but opted to pay cash. I had the choice.
And as you’d have guessed, he arrived promptly in six minutes. He was also a friendly driver. And at the end of the journey, I had the option to rate my driver.
Now if he’d been horrible I could have given him one star. But I gave him five. This means higher rated drivers get more jobs on the system, and the bad ones miss out.
As a driver he also gets the opportunity to rate me as a passenger. If I was an abusive or nasty passenger he could give me a low rating. I would then miss future rides or wait longer than usual.
A system like this drives good customer service and good passenger manners. It weeds out the bad and rewards the good. It’s competition in its finest form.
And competition like that results in a better outcome for all involved.
Looking back on the day it made me realise that we don’t always take the opportunity to really appreciate how the world advances.
To get me across London efficiently and quickly took more than just my smartphone and a few Google searches. It took GPS technology, thousands of servers, sensors, processors and computers. It took hybrid technology, wireless mobile internet and an innovative app.
When I really considered all the different aspects of technology involved in my reasonably monotonous journey it truly spun my head. While I consistently talk about what the future holds and the kinds of technology you can expect in the coming year, it’s the technology that’s already here we should also stop to appreciate.
Because at some point in the not so distant past, someone said ‘hey maybe there’s a better way to run busses, trains and the taxi system’. And those people then found a way to make it happen.
And that’s the beauty of technology. It just creeps into your life and we wonder how we ever managed to get along without it.
Sam Volkering+
Editor, Revolutionary Tech Investor
Ed note: The above article was originally published in Sam Volkering’s Tech Insider, the free daily eletter in which Sam Volkering gives his readers the inside scoop on the new technology and tech companies that are changing the world.