Mobility Service ProvidersWill Offer Door-to-DoorTravel Solutionson a One-Stop-Shop Basis

Companies will deliver customer-centrictransportation services by leveraging technologyand bundling offerings

Transportation the way we see it

What the Future Looks LikeIt is estimated that by the year 2030almost all travel customers will usesome sort of Information andCommunication (I&C) device tohandle their arrangements and thesedevices will be completelyindependent of any kind of computerbut rather will be embedded indevices and objects used in daily life.The components will be small,portable, quiet, almost invisible andpractically omnipresent. Informationwill be gathered with wireless dataexchanges and sensors, enabling new,innovative applications fortransportation providers, especially inplanning and scheduling.

Customers will be very well informed.They will know how to gather theinformation they require throughplatforms and communities. They willbe quality oriented and they will mostlikely think in terms of travel chainsrather than individual transportationproviders. Travel chains will beelectronically managed and executedand will be offered by many MSPs,who will become the primary travelcontacts for consumers. To providethe sort of seamless travel experiencecustomers expect, MSPs willcollaborate with a number of serviceproviders, including those dealingwith transportation (trains, airlines,buses, intermodal), online (ticketing

agency like Kayak, Google,Travelocity), mobile (phone servicecompanies), booking ( engines likeSabre and Pegasus) and financial(credit/debit card companies, paymentservice providers, smart cards, mobilebanking institutions). Customers willexpect MSPs to offer them prices anddeals that are geared to theirindividual requirements, be easy tounderstand and handled quickly andautomatically.

In this future scenario, customers willbook and buy their travelarrangements through mobilecommunication channels, which isalso where they will receive real-timeinformation about their trip –scheduled arrival time, connectiondata, departure platforms, etc.Questions about connections andconditions at an upcoming destinationcan be answered through online, GPS-enabled sites that can customize theinformation in an easy, visually-appealing format. The navigationfunctionality on mobile phones couldeven lead the traveler through thestation right to his booked seat.Constant updates and status of thetraffic systems across all transportationproviders will be available.

2

Travel in today’s world is complicated. The modern traveler

often takes a number of different modes of transportation

on a single trip, with a compounded number of touch

points with transportation providers, especially if a

problem should occur along the way. Today’s travel

customer is looking to a future scenario where his door-

to-door transportation service needs will be handled by a

single entity – a Mobility Service Provider (MSP).

station etc. - or to find the locationon a map

• Maps of journeys showing eachindividual stage, and interchangepoints

• Tools to modify or extend a journeyplan and to replace a section of apublic transport journey plan with acar plan

• Ticket prices for rail and coachjourneys and link to e-retailers forbuying tickets for the chosenjourney

• Live travel information for Britain'srail and road networks

• Mobile phone access to TransportDirect services such as live travelinformation and the planning ofsimple rail and bus journeys

Other examples of companiesproviding more than a reservationservice to their customers areLondon’s Oyster Cards, Germany’s DBBahnCard100, the Netherlands’ 9292information service and Spain’sEmpresa Malaguena deTransportes.

Transportation the way we see it

Some initiatives already in placeThere is already a trend in the travelmarket towards the development ofintermodal travel chains but thereremain many obstacles to fullintegration. The ability to combinelong distance (air, train) and shortdistance (car, taxi, tram) modes oftravel into one travel package is still along way off as is the ability tocompletely integrate railway and airtravel. Much effort and cooperationon the part of the companies involvedand government agency will berequired. However, advances intechnology are helping to resolvemany long-standing concerns andissues that special interest groups havehad with the concept of integratingintermodal travel chains.

A few companies are already startingto give customers a taste of the future.Air France & Thalys have anagreement whereby all Air Francecustomers travelling from Brussels toParis to take a medium / long-haulflight travel on the Thalys train. Thereservation system treats the Thalystrip as part of the Air France flight,which means customers use theirplane ticket for both parts of the trip.Customers do not need to make anyadditional reservations.Air France hasa ticket

counter and a train crew at therailway station. Passengers are given avoucher that they present when theyboard the train, allowing them totravel in first class cars specificallyreserved for Air France customers,regardless of the kind of air ticket theyhave purchased. Passengers andbaggage undergo preliminary check-inat the rail station in Brussels and nofurther luggage handling is necessaryon the rail leg.

Transportdirect.info is an example of acompany that provides all theinformation a traveller needs to plan ajourney by any mode, or mixture ofmodes, of transport within GreatBritain, including:

• Complete door-to-door journeyoptions by car and by publictransport

• "Quick Planners" to find a train,coach, flight or car route

• Step-by-step directions for joined-up public transport journeys

• "Find nearest" station / airportsearch

• Choose how to specify an origin ordestination - by place, address,postcode, place of interest, coach /railway

Mobility Service Providers Will Offer Door-to-Door Travel Solutions on a One-Stop-Shop Basis 3

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What’s in it for the individualprovider groupsTransportation providers (trains,planes, buses, taxis, trams) will beable to offer consumers accessibility toa larger area as well as many value-added services, leading to improvedrevenue generation. Furthermore thecompanies can save on distributioncosts. It will require investment intechnology jointly along with otherpartners to enable seamlessconnectivity within the frameworkand additional infrastructure forenabling inter-modality.

Online service providers will be ableto offer ticketing as well as manyvalue-added services to local- andshort-distance travelers, leading tomore traffic on their sites andimproved revenue generation.Required will be investment ininformation technology solutions tosupport back-end operations andpartnership with other serviceproviders to build end-to-end travelproducts and services.

Mobile service providers can offertheir customers important value-added services and build deepercustomer relationships whileimproving revenues. They will need tooffer technology such as near fieldcommunication (NFC) which enablesthe exchange of data between deviceswithin a few centimetres of eachother, allowing customers convenientmobile ticketing /contactless paymentsand also offer them payment andclearing options via their telephonebill.

Financial service providers willbenefit as consumers start usingfinancial instruments and servicesmore often in their travel, leading toimproved transaction volumes. Theywill be required to invest in back-endpayment processing capability for allconsumer touch points within theMSP framework and in RFID andNFC enabled cards.

What is the next level?In order to provide and sustain aseamless travel experience tocustomers, several types of serviceproviders will need to work together,bundling their offerings. They willform what we call a Mobility ServiceProvider (MSP). By definition, an MSPis an entity that provides consumerswith enhanced mobility throughservices and information throughoutthe travel chain by combining theservices of several inter-modaltransport companies as well as otherservice providers such as mobile,navigation, booking and financialservice providers.

Each of these provider groups isnecessary if consumers are to beassured of one-stop travel shopping(see Figure 1) and each group stands togain by its involvement in the process.

Fig.1: The MSP will provide customer-centric transportation services by leveragingtechnology and bundling offerings

One-sto

p-sho

pfo

rm

ob

ilityservices

Mobility service provider

Services to consumer

Seamless intermodalTravel / Transportation

Integrated Bookingand Ticketing

ComprehensiveInformation

Navigation andSchedule Integration

Communication andReal-time Updates

Smooth & CoordinatedPayment and Clearing

Consumers

Keycontribution

Parties involved

Inte

rco

nnec

tivi

ty

Bund

lingo

fservices

Transportation providers

TransportationServices

OnlineServices

for end user

MobileConnectivityfor end user

Ability for end-user to make

payments

Access to ticketreservation and

booking forseveral modes

Online service providers ( e.g. Google,Travelocity, etc.)

Mobile services providers

Financial services providers

Booking engine providers

Source: Capgemini

Transportation the way we see it

Mobility Service Providers Will Offer Door-to-Door Travel Solutions on a One-Stop-Shop Basis 5

Booking engine providers or GlobalDistribution Systems (GDS) in an MSPframework will act as the booking andreservation engine for the MSP’stransactions, acquiring access to ahuge untapped user base from theshort-distance travel market. Theywill have to build integration withservice providers for short-distancetravel and invest in informationtechnology solutions to support cross-entity and back-end operations.

Contributing parties in the frameworkwill all face common issues, such ascost of entry and engagement, datasecurity, defining and setting commonstandards and keeping up with theever-quickening pace of technologicalinnovations.

Business Models for MSPsIn general, an MSP could operate inthree distinct ways – as a dealer, as anagent or as an information providerfor the consumer base (see Figure 2).

From Capgemini’s point of view, theleast likely scenario of the three is anMSP in the dealer role. This wouldrequire the MSP to take on fulloperational risk, an expensive andunwanted burden.

In the role of an agent, the MSPwould act as the single face to thecustomer, comparable to a travelagency. The MSP would provideinformation, booking facilities,ticketing and payment services. Itwould receive a fee for these services.The contracts would be set upbetween the suppliers and thecustomers. The MSP would not beliable for the services and would act,in a sense, as an intermediary betweenthe customers and the suppliers.

The third option for an MSP is tooperate like a search engine. In thisscenario, the MSP would act as aninformation provider, consolidatingcomprehensive information fromacross modes and providers and thenoffering consumers the best possible

deals and trip planning assistance.No booking or ticketing functionwould be provided. They would directthe consumer to the chosen serviceproviders when it came time to buythe services. The service contractwould be between the consumer andthe service providers. The informationprovider model has a low investment,

low risk structure that seems moreconducive to those starting up

this sort of business.

Fig.2: MSPs in the role of an agent or an information provider are the businessmodels most likely to evolve in the future

Consumer buysmobility service

from MSPwho sells on behalfof service providers

Consumer buysmobility service

from MSP

Consumers

Consumers

Consumers

Consumer buysmobility service from

service providers,MSP as information

broker

Implications of MSP in the role of agent and that of an information provider will be analysed further.

Potential business modelsOPTION 1: MSP as a dealer

OPTION 2: MSP as an agent

OPTION 3: MSP as an information provider (Search Engine)

• MSP buys capacity and other services from the participants

• Contracts between MSP and consumers

• MSP is liable for the service

• MSP acts like a travel agent, provides information, booking, ticketingand payment services, MSP receives commission from the suppliers

• Contracts between suppliers and consumers

• MSP is not liable for the service

• MSP only consolidates information for the customer, no booking etc.

• Contracts between consumers and service providers

• MSP receives advertisement fees and click fees etc.

Source: Capgemini

business. Transportation and onlineservice providers already have asimilar business model and processesin place as well as long-standingexperience in travel-relatedoperations, although either groupwould need to make a significantinvestment in intermodal services.

Given their present all-roundcapabilities and ability to make theinvestment, air and rail transportationservice providers seem the mostprepared to lead the MSP framework.

ConclusionIntermodal travel transfers willincrease for the future traveler,especially as interfaces are optimized.Travelers will think nothing of goingfrom taxi to train to air to tram to busto get to their destination. One trip setup by one service provider, offering aneasy and seamless journey. Someconfiguration of an MSP will beresponsible for setting up andcarrying out that journey, either in therole of an agent or as informationprovider. Consumers will look toMSPs as the one-stop shop for alltheir travel arrangements. For themarket participants, especially thetransportation companies, the key willbe finding their place in the overallMSP scheme. If they are not able orwilling to take a lead role in thenetwork, they run the risk ofbecoming an interchangeable part ofthe mobility chain, with no contact tothe customer and no chance toinfluence customer decisions.

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Which companies will takethe lead?A key question that the individualservice providers will need to answeris whether one of them will take onthe responsibilities of an MSP inaddition to their primary serviceresponsibilities or whether the MSPresponsibilities will be handled by athird party.

If we take a closer look at each of theprovider categories making up theMSP partnership, it would appear thattransportation providers and onlineservice providers have the most tooffer in terms of taking over the leadMSP role (see Figure 3). The otherthree – mobile, financial service andbooking engine – either lack directtravel operating experience or havelittle customer-facing experience anddon’t have travel as part of their core

Fig.3: Not all partners in the MSP framework have the preconditions in place to takeon the leading role

• Direct interface withcustomer, with control oncommunications

• Long-standing experiencein the travel business

• Capable of building a network

Relevance for MSP lead role

Favourable factors Unfavourable factorsMSP

lead role fit

Transportation Provider

Online Service Provider(incl. Navigation)

Mobile Service Provider(e.g. Vodafone)

Financial ServiceProvider

Booking EngineCompany (e.g. GDS)

Good Fit Bad Fit Average Fit

• Similar business modeland processes

• Long-standing experience intravel-related operations

• Similar business modeland processes

• Long-standing experience intravel-related operations

• Extension of core business

• Will be required to invest significantlyfurther in creating intermodal services

• Will be required to invest significantlyfurther in creating intermodal services

• Lack of experience in directing traveloperations

• No core business

• Lack of experience in directing traveloperations

• No core business

• No core business

• More of an enabling intermediary

• Experience in playing more of a back-endrole rather than customer-facing processes

Source: Capgemini

Transportation the way we see it

Mobility Service Providers Will Offer Door-to-Door Travel Solutions on a One-Stop-Shop Basis 7

References:

1.White Paper,’ “European transport policy for 2010: time todecide”, Loyola de Palacio

2. “Fastrack is applauded with National transport award”,18th July2007,Claudia Robinson,

3. “Development of Integrated Ticketing for Air and Rail Transport”,EU Commission Directorate-General "Energy & Transport”

4.Website – www.Transportdirect.info

5.Website – www.9292ov.nl.com

6.Website - www.transys.com

7.Website – http://www.emtmalaga.es.com

8.Website – www.Lufthansa.com

9.Website – www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster

10. Website – www.deutschebahn.com

11. Website – www.airfrance.com

12. Website – www.thalys.com

Research for this document was conducted by members of Capgemini Consulting’s MRD Strategic Insights Group -John Varghese, Vishal Khanna, Reshma Kamath and Swapnil Desai.

www.capgemini.com/distribution

©2009 Capgemini. No part of this document may be modified,deleted or expanded by any process or means without prior written permission from Capgemini.

Rightshore ® is a trademark belonging to Capgemini.

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For more information, please contact:

Dr. Jürgen SchneiderTel: +49 2241 9737 292Juergen.schneider@capgemini.com

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