The opportunities ahead for ground transportation in the travel industry

The ground transportation sector of travel sits at an interesting crossroads.

It has gained prominence – rightfully so – as the topic of sustainability has become the centerpiece of conversations about travel’s future and the most urgent issues that need to be addressed.

But ground transportation is also recognized as a sector still hampered by fragmentation and the challenge of creating a seamless, easily bookable journey that can take a customer from door to door, whether across a country or a continent. 

The convergence of those factors creates a heightened opportunity for innovation and collaboration.

In a conversation in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe, SilverRail co-founder and CEO Aaron Gowell said the fact that train manufacturer Siemens is seeing orders at an all-time high for its high-speed trains is a clear indication of the growing interest in alternatives to air travel. Siemens' most recent quarterly financial report shows orders rose 15% year over year to €24.2 billion.

But what continues to be an impediment to true multimodal travel is integration of both long distance and last mile options in a simple, consumer interface.

“You’ll see some very good apps, like Citymapper is a great example … but those planning apps, none of them actually book,” Gowell said.

“No one has actually figured out how to do the two together – door to door plus the transaction component. And I think that will be a real up-and-coming area in this space. … You essentially need a [global distribution system] to do this in some form, or it could be a startup company that does it, but you need somebody that’s got the capital and the technical prowess to do that kind of integration.”

Mozio CEO Nicole Forson, also part of the interview, said collaboration among stakeholders is a critical part of effective solutions. 

“We work with many of our so-called competitors because we offer something maybe slightly better than they do and then they give us something that we don’t do as well,” she said.

“And that collaboration always works out better for the companies involved as well as for the customers.”

The two also discussed the potential for consolidation in the sector, to which Gowell said, “Dara [Khosrowshahi] who runs Uber is a deal machine. … It’s in his DNA. Will he acquire stuff? Absolutely. So it will be interesting to see how it evolves.”

Gowell and Forson also shared their thoughts on the flight ban in France, and why they believe it will be actions such as this from governments and also corporations that will lead the move toward more sustainable travel behavior from consumers. 

Watch the full discussion below.