Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SYN AIR (Synergies between transport modes and Air transportation)
Reporting period: 2021-11-01 to 2022-12-31
The solution proposed by SYN+AIR relates to the design of a “Smart Contracts Framework” (SCF) aiming at facilitating the generation of contractual agreements, known as data sharing contracts and Smart Contracts, among Transport Service Providers (TSPs). The SCF is an alloy of different architectures (Business, Information, Technical and Application) hosted by a cloud platform.
TSPs may register to the SYN+AIR’s SCF platform and create, modify, or cancel a Contract, which is an agreement among TSPs defining the data sharing criteria [e.g. scope, dataset attributes and specifications, parties’ obligations (revenue and responsibility sharing), contract’s time span and fulfilment criteria, etc]. The stand-alone platform is designed to facilitate the collaboration among TSPs of different modes and to perform the management of the Smart Contracts in a central way. Its design envisions the connection with 3rd parties’ services and software solutions such transport clouds and data spaces transport open data repositories, data transformation platforms to get the necessary inputs for running the SYN+AIR’s platform.
Finally, the design of the platform also supports the connection with Mobility as a Service providers and Travel Companion apps (TCs) which allows the actualization/monitoring of a signed Contract and the travellers to benefit from data sharing leading to less waiting time, single ticketing, or even single check in).
Thus, SYN+AIR had to fulfil the following objectives to be able to generate the Smart Contract Framework.
• Determine the willingness of TSPs to collaborate and share data by examining and determining (planning and operational) goals shared by TSPs
• Execute impact assessment of data sharing to determine the type of usable data by TSPs at each phase (strategic and tactical/operational) based on achieving the goals determined in the previous objective.
• Explore the idea of creating a SCF for use between TSPs with the goal to guarantee a seamless door-to-door journey.
• Explore the impact of data collection from TCs for enriching the data of TSPs in strategic, pre-tactical and tactical phases allowing for informed decision making during the creation and execution of Smart Contracts and for improving the recommendations provided to the users through the TCs.
TSPs may register to the SYN+AIR’s SCF platform and create, modify, or cancel a Contract, which is an agreement among TSPs defining the data sharing criteria [e.g. scope, dataset attributes and specifications, parties’ obligations (revenue and responsibility sharing), contract’s time span and fulfilment criteria, etc]. The stand-alone platform is designed to facilitate the collaboration among TSPs of different modes and to perform the management of the Smart Contracts in a central way. Its design envisions the connection with 3rd parties’ services and software solutions such transport clouds and data spaces transport open data repositories, data transformation platforms to get the necessary inputs for running the SYN+AIR’s platform.
Finally, the design of the platform also supports the connection with Mobility as a Service providers and Travel Companion apps (TCs) which allows the actualization/monitoring of a signed Contract and the travellers to benefit from data sharing leading to less waiting time, single ticketing, or even single check in).
Thus, SYN+AIR had to fulfil the following objectives to be able to generate the Smart Contract Framework.
• Determine the willingness of TSPs to collaborate and share data by examining and determining (planning and operational) goals shared by TSPs
• Execute impact assessment of data sharing to determine the type of usable data by TSPs at each phase (strategic and tactical/operational) based on achieving the goals determined in the previous objective.
• Explore the idea of creating a SCF for use between TSPs with the goal to guarantee a seamless door-to-door journey.
• Explore the impact of data collection from TCs for enriching the data of TSPs in strategic, pre-tactical and tactical phases allowing for informed decision making during the creation and execution of Smart Contracts and for improving the recommendations provided to the users through the TCs.
The main activities and achievements to achieve these objectives have beeen:
• We created 33 tentative customer journeys and more than 100 tentative questions related to them. This tentative customer journeys represent the choices and the trade-offs of the different personas based on the bases analysis scenarios. To validate them, we executed a stated preference survey in more than 4 EU Countries (Greece, Serbia, Italy, Spain, and Other EU Countries) and we collected 2200 valid answers We have examined and analysed the survey results leading to 23 validated customer journeys.
• By conducting a literature review and by finding best-practices and pitfalls of collaboration, we had delineated the willingness of TSPs to collaborate. We have identified the motives, hindrances and opportunities and then validate them and/or enriched them with 10 deep interviews of TSPs and transportation experts. Based on that analysis a list of goals that can motivate data sharing between TSPs has been generated.
• We have conducted literature reviews to identify the TSPs and other stakeholders that are involved in the data sharing process in air transportation, PT (Public Transport, Transit), MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) and DRT (Demand Responsive Transport), rail and maritime transport and therefore be able to determine the data sets that they generate and are required to be shared for achieving seamless transport. The latter led to the creation of the Data Flow Model.
• A 2nd questionnaire survey to determine the impact of data sharing and coordinated transport on frequent air travellers was conducted.
• We have conducted literature reviews on data governance, value of data sharing in transport and type of contracts that can facilitate the data sharing among TSPs to set the background and state of the art for the creation of the SCF.
• More than 20, codesigning activities and events participation such as workshops and peer to peer meetings have been conducted to allow us to form the solution of the SCF based on the needs of SYN+AIR’s stakeholders and making use of existing solutions such as data spaces and standardization protocols.
• We have identified, analysed, and clustered travel companion apps and web apps to be able to determine their impact in data sharing and see how the SCF can benefit or can be integrated in them.
The conclusion of these activities is summarised as follows:
-There are multiple motivations for TSPs to collaborate
-Not all available data need to be shared for a specific collaboration to take place
-Automation and standardisation are necessary for data sharing among TSPs and implementation of real-time actions
-An electronic platform is required to automate and streamline these actions
-TSPs are willing to collaborate and to share the data and collaboration needs to provide benefits for all TSPs involved.
-Regulatory framework and standardised process to support this collaboration should be provided
-TSPs perceive potential collaboration as a mean to increase: a) the demand, b) their own visibility on the market and c) passenger satisfaction
-Attention should be paid on data privacy and IT security (e.g. application of GDPR)
-Stakeholders want to collaborate, but they do not have a structured way to collaborate that means a lack of standardization and means of collaboration
-Stakeholders want to store their data in their premises, and they are not willing to share them to new data cloud or to an external party which means a lack of TRUST
-Different level of digitalization of different stakeholders is an issue.
-Hidden value of datasets should be exploit.
Considering all the above-mentioned results, the SYN+AIR’s main solution namely SCF was created. It is a business process that defines data exchange rules among TSPs that share the common goal of getting the passenger to the destination through a multimodal chain of trips. Furthermore, it provides a centralized hub for contracts management via a web platform (named SYN+AIR platform) that allows TSPs to create, modify, terminate, and validate signed contracts (both data sharing agreements and smart contracts). Most importantly, the storage of TSPs’ data and, all the data sharing processes are executed outside of the SYN+AIR platform.
• We created 33 tentative customer journeys and more than 100 tentative questions related to them. This tentative customer journeys represent the choices and the trade-offs of the different personas based on the bases analysis scenarios. To validate them, we executed a stated preference survey in more than 4 EU Countries (Greece, Serbia, Italy, Spain, and Other EU Countries) and we collected 2200 valid answers We have examined and analysed the survey results leading to 23 validated customer journeys.
• By conducting a literature review and by finding best-practices and pitfalls of collaboration, we had delineated the willingness of TSPs to collaborate. We have identified the motives, hindrances and opportunities and then validate them and/or enriched them with 10 deep interviews of TSPs and transportation experts. Based on that analysis a list of goals that can motivate data sharing between TSPs has been generated.
• We have conducted literature reviews to identify the TSPs and other stakeholders that are involved in the data sharing process in air transportation, PT (Public Transport, Transit), MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) and DRT (Demand Responsive Transport), rail and maritime transport and therefore be able to determine the data sets that they generate and are required to be shared for achieving seamless transport. The latter led to the creation of the Data Flow Model.
• A 2nd questionnaire survey to determine the impact of data sharing and coordinated transport on frequent air travellers was conducted.
• We have conducted literature reviews on data governance, value of data sharing in transport and type of contracts that can facilitate the data sharing among TSPs to set the background and state of the art for the creation of the SCF.
• More than 20, codesigning activities and events participation such as workshops and peer to peer meetings have been conducted to allow us to form the solution of the SCF based on the needs of SYN+AIR’s stakeholders and making use of existing solutions such as data spaces and standardization protocols.
• We have identified, analysed, and clustered travel companion apps and web apps to be able to determine their impact in data sharing and see how the SCF can benefit or can be integrated in them.
The conclusion of these activities is summarised as follows:
-There are multiple motivations for TSPs to collaborate
-Not all available data need to be shared for a specific collaboration to take place
-Automation and standardisation are necessary for data sharing among TSPs and implementation of real-time actions
-An electronic platform is required to automate and streamline these actions
-TSPs are willing to collaborate and to share the data and collaboration needs to provide benefits for all TSPs involved.
-Regulatory framework and standardised process to support this collaboration should be provided
-TSPs perceive potential collaboration as a mean to increase: a) the demand, b) their own visibility on the market and c) passenger satisfaction
-Attention should be paid on data privacy and IT security (e.g. application of GDPR)
-Stakeholders want to collaborate, but they do not have a structured way to collaborate that means a lack of standardization and means of collaboration
-Stakeholders want to store their data in their premises, and they are not willing to share them to new data cloud or to an external party which means a lack of TRUST
-Different level of digitalization of different stakeholders is an issue.
-Hidden value of datasets should be exploit.
Considering all the above-mentioned results, the SYN+AIR’s main solution namely SCF was created. It is a business process that defines data exchange rules among TSPs that share the common goal of getting the passenger to the destination through a multimodal chain of trips. Furthermore, it provides a centralized hub for contracts management via a web platform (named SYN+AIR platform) that allows TSPs to create, modify, terminate, and validate signed contracts (both data sharing agreements and smart contracts). Most importantly, the storage of TSPs’ data and, all the data sharing processes are executed outside of the SYN+AIR platform.
SYN+AIR is not directly impacting society but aims to have a positive impact on seamless transport and promote single ticketing, synchronisation of timetables, disruption management and coordinated transport. Hence, a traveller and a citizen with the implementation of the Smart Contact Framework could gain benefits such as of being able to book a single ticket and make a 4h trip changing different modes and do not have to worry about missing his connection or having to demonstrate his id in every leg of his trip. As said SYN+AIR is focus on facilitating the collaboration between TSPs, with an overall goal of allowing them to enhance seamless transport and improve passengers experience using the Smart Contracts Framework by assisting the to identify the goal of collaboration, the required data and to generate, manage and monitor data sharing and smart contracts.