“We’re beginning to see … a massive change in the way in which people buy mobility.”

Transit Unplugged ventures across the pond for a six-part series that highlights public transport in the United Kingdom. In this first episode, our guest is Dave Pearson, Director, Transport Services at West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Pearson explains how public transport operates within a deregulated market. Except for London, ~80% of bus service in the UK runs on a commercial basis, while the transport authority commissions the other 20%.

There is also a great discussion on some of the challenges facing rail structures within the UK. Pearson shares that the best way to move transit forward is to give riders a personalized experience and how demand responsive transport might play into that in the future. Finally, Pearson highlights West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s multimodal, multi-operator ticketing scheme.

If you want to know more about West Yorkshire Combined Authority, check out their website.

Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.