Gavin Miller National Operations Manager for the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) shares insights from the bus sector’s data journey that could be applicable to maritime as part of Intent Communications’ ‘De-mystifying digitalisation and AI in maritime’ campaign.

The government-funded Bus Open Data Service (BODS) has the mammoth task of providing free-to-access data reporting to authorities and third-party developers nationally, including bus timetables, fares and the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) for buses operating all across England. As National Operations Manager at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), Gavin Miller has a ringside view into how the bus sector has responded to the UK’s introduction of BODS, including the opportunities and challenges it introduces, alongside the lessons it offers other transport modes, including maritime. 

We have drawn parallels with pain points that Miller has outlined for the bus sector and made recommendations for situations in the maritime sphere – as well as wider implementation recommendations.

Boosting operator awareness

In maritime, the presence of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) makes it far easier to enshrine international regulations into national legislature, but there is the increasing risk of national regulations that could complicate the operational landscape. Miller warns that in cases where regulations are rolled out without sufficient awareness from operators, compliance would be a major challenge.

He cited the example of the UK Public General Acts’ Bus Services Act 2017, which mandated that bus operators provide open data, including routes, timetables, fares and real-time location, leading to the creation of BODS from 2020. Operators will also be required to upload the previous calendar year’s punctuality data by the end of March annually.

When surveyed in 2020, only 42% of operators were aware of the BODS requirements, despite their imminent legal enforcement. Furthermore, initial implementation guidance incorrectly positioned certain services as exempt – such as historical vehicles – which were in fact mandated by the legislation, creating additional difficulty. 

In a maritime context, the closest equivalent would be rules for data collection about ship or port operations, which vary based on the choice of data system as well as the make up of vessel or equipment (many of which are bespoke to the individual maritime asset). Thus, while gathering like for like data is ideal, ensuring that individual operators are aware of their obligations and the technical requirements to collect this information is vital.

Intent Communications recommendation: We recommend a robust stakeholder buy-in programme, which spans printed and digital communications, workshops at various stages for the project that are tailored to needs of individual stakeholders, a phased implementation of the regulation with sufficient time for training and also low penalties at an initial stage, which ramp up in the case of multiple refusals to comply.

Technology complexity

Many large bus operators have been more easily able to adapt to BODS due to existing ticketing technology integration and dedicated central data teams. However, Miller points out that smaller operators have been forced to incur costs for technology to meet the 

mandated data standards. Many of these small operators would have used legacy, paper service registration and struggle to ensure they are recording accurate data using real-time AVL feeds. The complexity has meant that some operators have been required to pay agents to handle timetable data uploads.

Furthermore, where automated systems to track location were put in place, there have been teething issues, most notably GPS drift that can make it seem like a bus has skipped a stop, or left a stop before the scheduled time – which causes incorrect data to be gathered. While previous incarnations of this system relied upon observers at bus stops, who would have seen that a bus was at the right location for the correct amount of time even if the bus was unable to stop in the designated area, technology will only work within the pre-determined parameters. The net result is that while larger operators are largely complying with BODS and growing their service through being part of the system, smaller operators often voice frustration that the effort of compliance outweighs any gains – and in some cases, has reflected unfairly upon their operating practices.

There are clear parallels with maritime. A recent article for the Central Dredging Association (CEDA) explored how the EU Monitoring Reporting and Verification Regulation (EU MRV) – which mandates the collection and reporting of emissions data – poses a disproportionate challenge to smaller companies that are less likely to be equipped with onboard monitoring equipment that automatically collects data.

Furthermore, the IMO’s Maritime Single Window – a mandatory digital platform for ship operators to submit information required by port authorities – alongside the Port Community Systems (PCS) are also seeing similar challenges. The system was intended to enable the seamless exchange of information but in fact requires an alignment of diverse stakeholders with different vessel types, operating systems and data parameters – a task that is difficult to achieve. For the largest ports, these new technologies are unwanted because of the fact they have already invested in highly expensive data tracking systems that are implemented not only in all their operations but that staff are trained to use. Meanwhile, smaller ports consider the systems a significant challenge from a digital maturity and budgetary perspective. 

Intent Communications recommendation: When it comes to implementing data gathering systems, it is worth identifying clear use cases for the data and ensuring that the scope of the project is matched to this. In addition to working as a pilot project to identify issues with implementation, this would also have the benefit of securing buy-in at an early stage and allowing maritime operators to understand the value of the new system and how best to adapt. There should also be special training and support for small operators.

Data sharing advantages

One of the lessons from our London roundtable was that maritime businesses need to overcome their fear of sharing data if they are to seize the potential of emerging technologies – with a panellist noting that the sector is typically even reluctant to share non-commercial data. However, while maritime is concerned about the risks of sacrificing competitive advantage, the CPT’s bus operator members, which are nominally competitors, have adopted a collaborative approach in many instances – and for the larger operators at least – now recognise the benefits of data sharing.

While there was of course, an initial reticence to share commercial and operational data – an attitude that Miller points out lingers in some areas – the operators were made to collaborate by the BODS and found ways in which to make compliance work to their advantage. This has helped to raise the bar around aspects such as punctuality levels, and to promote opportunities such as the inclusion of long-distance coach service data. Collaboration also allows stakeholders to have a louder voice when asking for government support.

Intent Communications recommendation: Specific areas for data sharing should be identified in conjunction with government authorities and industry players and standards should be established so that only necessary data is gathered. This then makes a clear distinction between commercial and non-commercial data and also ensures that there is buy-in from all parties. Furthermore, this level of transparency would allow maritime data to be integrated into other data systems and increase visibility of the sector – although this should be carefully managed to prevent misinformation.

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