A Blockchain Infrastructure for Transportation in Low Income Country Cities, and Beyond

For our cities of tomorrow, it is essential that transport is organised in an efficient, resilient and equitable way; enabling economic growth, social cohesion and minimising environmental impact, including Climate Change. In cities across the world, new flexible, sharing economy services are blurring the lines between private and public transportation. However, these new transport modes are creating a “digital divide” and lack the integration and co-ordination between other services. This is needed to create seamless and sustainable travel options for people, including those belonging to vulnerable groups. This exploratory paper examines the potential for Blockchain to play a pivotal role in addressing increasing congestion and pollution in growing cities of developing countries. It draws on preliminary research into the role of Automatic Fare Collection systems and related mobility market dynamics and trends in the cities of Cape Town, South Africa and Dehli, India. A case is made for a global and universal blockchain infrastructure, for the sharing of data on movement and assets, designed with low income economies and vulnerable groups in mind. It would enable: • users access to different modes of transport in an equitable and hassle-free way, • assurance to transport operators on surety of payment, • cities with integrated solutions for tackling congestion and targeting subsidies. In wealthier countries Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a new business model that integrates public and private services together. Its level of adoption could be limited without a supporting blockchain infrastructure. By creating viable new digital infrastructure for Low Income Country Cities (LICCs), who have less incumbent legacy systems, there is potential to establish a decentralised blockchain network across these territories. There would also be scope for this network to be scaled further into wealthier countries, through a secondary wave of adoption by Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).