Nowadays, most of us BIM’ers are familiar with theoretical terms like AI, blockchain, virtual reality and robotics. However, the practical know-how of these technologies in current industries is often lacked. Therefore, I present an interesting application of blockchain, which is found in public transport. Where mobile payment as method of payment for public transportation failed earlier this year, a new trial will be executed in Gouda as of October 2018. Arriva (a provider of public transport in the Netherlands, mainly buses) and VMC.ai (a software developer) are collaborating to provide users with an easier way to travel door-to-door. Instead of travelling from train station A to train station B, it is more convenient to use a common bike (bicycles sharing system) or Uber to get from the train station to your home with a uniform method of payment, as is claimed in the corresponding article. For the first time in the world, blockchain will be used in public transportation.
The trial in Gouda uses QR codes to check in and check out: a personal QR code is linked to your account where you can buy tokens for travelling. Usage of these QR codes can be expanded to not only buses, but also to other forms of public transportation, Uber and common bikes. Besides declaring to provide easier travelling, blockchain is safer and provides better privacy. On the one hand, the intermediary currently saving the data centrally (TransLink, the company behind the ov-chipkaart) will disappear and data will be stored in a decentralized way with blockchain. On the other hand, way less data is necessary. The system only needs raw travelling data which is not connected to your address nor bank account.
Getting back to the uniform method of payment, I believe there is an interesting opportunity for blockchain in public transport. Right now, this technology will only be used in one city in the Netherlands. If this trial proves to have great potential, it can be spread out to the rest of the country. Looking further into the future, I see people using this technology not only in the Netherlands, but everywhere in the world. Especially in developing countries it is relatively easy to implement this system, since the system of a national chip card technology is too complex to enforce, yet people often own a smartphone and are familiar with using QR codes. For example, Bank Indonesia planned to initialize standardization and regulation of payments with these codes, even lagging behind other developing countries such as Bangladesh and India. With this new technology, there is no need to buy separate train, bus or metro tickets, just one app on your phone that you can use worldwide to travel with public transportation. In that sense, it will be possible to travel the world with blockchain.
Sources:
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/09/04/gouda-krijgt-eerste-blockchain-bus-a1615274
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/04/24/proef-mobiel-betalen-in-openbaar-vervoer-mislukt-a1600582
http://theinsiderstories.com/bank-indonesia-to-set-standards-on-qr-code-payment/
Thank you for such an interesting point of view about the future of blockchain in terms of public transportation. I believe that apart from the benefit of decentralized travel diary (as you mentioned), another potential in blockchain would be simplified payment method. The origin of blockchain, afterall, originated from Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Using cryptocurrency as the unified payment method would simplify users’ travel experience on a global level. Combining with your point of unified transportation system, the future of travellers look lean and bright.
My concern would be how private your privacy is, and how can we make sure that only needed stakesholders can get access to our itineraries. Recently, an Ethereum-based company DOVU strive to incentivize citizens to share their travel routes by rewarding them with Ethereum tokens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=23&v=rE-8gx764_s). Although we can be assured that our data are stored in a secure way (thanks to blockchain), it doesnt mean that those data cannot be accessed by third-parties, whom we definitely don’t want to get access to.
Hi Khiet,
Thank you for your response! I agree with you on the simplified payment method, indeed paying with cryptocurrency is the way the simplified payment method is seen. In my opinion, using blockchain would guarantee user’s privacy up to a certain level (of course not 100%), as one of blockchain’s features is the safety of data. You would need a super skilled human or computer to crack blockchain since it’s protected by a cryptographic fingerprint and a so-called consensus protocol. How to make sure only two concerning parties can access the data, is yet a question that remains unanswered…
Best regards,
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