Digital transformation possibilities in public transportation in Debrecen

Abstract

For people living in big cities, getting to their destinations every day is a significant challenge. The increasing use of private transport leads to congestion in cities, contributing to air pollution, increased journey times, and citizens' dissatisfaction. At the end of 2020, the European Commission presented its green, innovative, and affordable mobility plan, the "Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy." The strategy's main aims are to reduce transport emissions by 90% by 2050 and improve digitalization based on innovative technologies and methods. To motivate citizens to use public transportation, meeting the passengers' requirements is crucial. At the beginning of 2022, research was carried out in Debrecen on the expectations for public transport. In this paper, the authors present the main results of the survey, focusing on the digitalization part of the survey. Based on the results, 69% of the citizens prefer digital solutions to their everyday lives. The introduction and development of digital solutions such as real-time passenger information would shift more than half of respondents from individual transport to public transport. A proposal was made to introduce complex applications which, in addition to journey planning, also provide additional convenient functions, such as payment and live news. The results can be used to improve the Smart City Program and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP).