Mobility – The Limits to What A Flying Carpet Can Do
On 190 days last year, Dr. Wolf Heine used a wide variety of transport options when visiting customers and supervising on-going projects, mostly starting from Hamburg. Best Practice’s interview with the traffic science expert at the T-Systems Competence Center for Traffic covered numerous topics, including mobility and data traffic, speed, networking, and ancient Chinese philosophy.
8,000 flights per day, 50 million cars on the roads and one hundred thousand train connections per day. What would be your preferred mode of transport?
How about a flying carpet (despite these being subject to immigration restrictions in England, as highlighted by the “Harry Potter” books)? But seriously... It’s not the mode of transport that counts. What matters is intelligent networking. When driving under difficult traffic conditions, there’s got to be a way to get information by mobile phone telling me whether public transport will get me to my destination quicker and where I can park my car in the interim. In the past, many good ideas came to nothing because of a lack of networking options. The situation is different today. Seamless net-working of IT and telecommunications now enable services that make life easier and more convenient. The same also applies to cyclists and pedestrians.
Having reached mega-trend proportions, mobility now affects every area of life. What’s your tip for keeping up with developments?
In most cases, mobility is not an end in itself and cannot be separated from the developments in our working lives. In the old days, people used to work at home or drove to work and returned home again the same day. These days, many people either work directly on the customer’s premises or in various branch offices of their companies. Whatever the case, we spend more time traveling than ever before. This is a growing trend as a result of globalization. You’ve got to take a relaxed approach.
What do you mean with “relaxed”? Doesn’t increased mobility often mean more stress?
Stress is more the result of the accompanying circumstances. You might be in a hurry but find that the person in front of you in the queue for the ticket dispenser is unable to cope, or that the self-service check-in has what can best be described as “a life of its own”. That’s why our guiding principle is: Keep it as simple as possible! Our little electronic helper is the mobile phone, which allows us to get information and even purchase tickets. Experience with purchasing tickets by mobile phone, for example with the Rhine-Main Transport Authority, shows: A system that is easy for the user will be readily accepted. We’re happy to rack our brains to provide the right solution.
So you don’t mean relax as in “Do nothing and everything will be done for you”?
That’s right. The philosophical teachings of Lao Tsu won’t help much here. However, one of his contemporaries has some valuable advice. When we are working to make it easier to use traffic systems, then we must take a literal approach to Confucius’ saying: “The way is the goal.”
Speaking of data traffic – how do you use your mobile phone?
Once in a while even to make phone calls, of course. But a mobile phone is the key ring of the 21st century. We wouldn’t dream of leaving home without it. Can you think of a piece of technical equipment that has a stronger influence on our lives or that is more accepted by us? We can use our mobile phones to book a hotel room, buy tickets, pay for parking and settle small bills without needing cash. Its all very quick, convenient and secure. Are there any alternatives?
What is your next wish for the traffic sector?
We introduced the first NFC (near field communications) mobile ticket for catamaran ferries on Lake Constance last winter at T-City Friedrichshafen. Occasional users who use the so-called “KatCard” with their mobile not only pay one third less per journey, but can also pay for their ticket as they board the ferry. I wouldn’t mind using the service myself some fine spring morning. After that, I would change my mode of transport for a round trip in the NT zeppelin.
