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Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Public Transportation: Past Mistakes and Future Strategies

Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Public Transportation: Past Mistakes and Future Strategies. Ryan O’Connor and Steven Dale. Overview. Introduction Scope and purpose of paper Current UPT and urban gondola market Three ‘industry specific’ hurdles The “urban disconnect ”

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Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Public Transportation: Past Mistakes and Future Strategies

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  1. Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Public Transportation: Past Mistakes and Future Strategies Ryan O’Connor and Steven Dale

  2. Overview • Introduction • Scope and purpose of paper • Current UPT and urban gondola market • Three ‘industry specific’ hurdles • The “urban disconnect” • Chasing the wrong installations • Resistance to change • Conclusions • Questions / comments

  3. Author profiles • Ryan O’Connor BRP hons., PGCertBus, GNZPI • Presenter • Town Planning Consultant based in Wellington, New Zealand • Steven Dale Hons. B.A., B.Urb. • Creative Urban Projects (CUP) based in Toronto, Canada • Creator of ‘The Gondola Project’ website • Two urban planners with previous involvement with the ropeway industry, urban transport proposals and research

  4. Scope and purpose of paper • Paper does not research the merits of urban gondolas – that has been done before • Explores ‘industry specific’ obstacles and solutions to sustainable growth in the UPT market from an urban planners perspective • Focuses on ‘detachable aerial ropeways’ (urban gondolas) • Designed to stimulate debate by presenting a subjective opinion on the current situation and future possibilities of the urban gondola market

  5. Current UPT and urban gondola market • Urban gondolas are now competitive with more traditional UPT technologies yet are still rarely considered a viable alternative • The industry is selling more ropeways to the urban market than ever before - why change the current strategy? • Success should be measured against market opportunities as opposed to moderate increases in sales • Different issues exist in the urban market, thus different strategies are required to capture it

  6. Growth in urban ropeway installations

  7. Current UPT and urban gondola market • Urbanization presents favorable demographic and economic trends for the UPT market • There are significant opportunities for urban gondolas in dense urban environments • The industry is well positioned to capture growth, but there are risks of not taking proactive steps • A strategic approach is required to ensure favorable positioning translates into success

  8. Mistake 1: The “Urban Disconnect” • The UPT market is complex and considerably different than the tourist / winter market • A particular problem is poor access to accurate and up-to-date information for industry outsiders • Urban professionals and the public are ill-informed of the technologies capabilities • ‘Rubbish in, rubbish out’ phenomena • The “urban disconnect” continues…

  9. Example: CTV News These images were used to explain what an ‘urban gondola’ is on prime-time news. In this case, a prime marketing opportunity for the technology turned out to be both detrimental and counterproductive.

  10. Mistake 2: Chasing the wrong installations • Procurement in the UPT market is considerably different than the tourist / winter market • Opening, qualifying and closing sales leads demanding and costly • Expect to field increased queries and propositions from UPT market • Prioritizing resources is essential • Is the existing sales model is suitably equipped for the UPT market?

  11. Mistake 3: Resistance to change • Sustaining vs. disruptive technologies • The industry has triumphed at innovation when required in the tourist / winter market, but not so much the UPT market • Paper specifies potential innovations of benefit • Risk of not innovating, someone else will! • Example: High Speed Rail and Chinese innovation

  12. Overview of Solutions • Paper highlights 15 specific solutions tackling two core areas: • Better addressing the underlying structure ‘that takes the product to the market’ - providing accurate and effective information to the right people • Technology and system design could benefit from targeted innovation specific to UPT

  13. Some of the key solutions... • Participate in the research process. Fund or assist in high-quality research and ensure that it spreads throughout the urban/transport planning community. • Use education and due diligence processes as a tool to identify and prioritize sound urban gondola opportunities while ignoring those unlikely to be realized. • Identify system characteristics that require innovation for the UPT market and invest in research and development in those core areas.

  14. Conclusions • The industry has thrived the tourist / winter market – it has innovated when faced with difficult challenges • The future for the industry in the UPT market appears promising and lucrative • Strategies tailored to the UPT market are required • Manufacturers are well placed, but a proactive and strategic approach will ensure success

  15. Lastly.... • Thank you to the International Organization for Transportation by Rope (O.I.T.A.F) for providing us the opportunity to present this paper to you today!

  16. Questions.... • Do not hesitate to approach Steven or myself (Ryan) at the Congress to discuss any points in further detail • Or contact us by email at - • ryan@planningservices.co.nz • steven@creativeurbanprojects.com

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