Beyond the pilot: making new technology work for public transport
From automated mobility to AI and data, UITP’s IT Committees recently met in China to explore what it takes for new technology to deliver lasting value for the public transport sector.
Testing a new technology is one thing. Making it work every day, across an entire network, is another. That challenge was at the heart of the 26th combined meeting of UITP’s IT & Telecommunications and IT & Innovation Committees, held from 26 to 30 October 2026 and hosted by Streamax in Shenzhen.
Alongside the Committee meetings, the programme included a joint seminar with UITP’s Transport Economics and Finance Committee and technical visits across Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Jiangmen.
Read on to discover why rolling out new technology is often harder than testing it, what helps it go further, and how organisations can show it was worth the investment.
Why scaling up is the hard part
For many organisations, the problem is not a shortage of ideas. RATP Group made this point clearly: with hundreds of innovation initiatives under way, generating ideas is not the bottleneck. The real difficulty is taking a successful trial and rolling it out across a large and complex organisation. A solution that works on one line can meet different teams, operating rules and technical environments on the next.
Long-term timing matters too. Railway systems can operate for 30 or 40 years, so a capability left out when rolling stock or signalling is designed can be far harder and more costly to add later. Some networks expanding quickly with new infrastructure have been able to build digital technologies in from the start.
UITP members explored these questions directly in a working session on the value of data and scaling AI responsibly from pilots to business outcomes.
What helps technology go further
Several lessons emerged from the week.
Start with a real operational problem. The strongest examples had a clear purpose, whether that meant preventing an incident, spotting a failure earlier or improving passenger flows.
Data only matters when it changes what people do. MTR Hong Kong showed how remote diagnostics can let engineers assess the condition of equipment before staff are sent out, helping maintenance move from reacting to failures towards preventing them. But a prediction only creates value if it reaches the right person, it is trusted and it leads to action. Otherwise, it risks becoming just another dashboard.
People remain accountable. AI featured throughout the programme. One idea from the discussions summed up the balance well: AI can help write the code, but people own the rules and decisions.
Technology alone does not transform. It needs ownership, skills, new processes, funding and governance alongside it.
Proving it was worth it
Showing that a technology works is not the same as showing that it is worth the investment. Members examined this question, including at the joint seminar with the Transport Economics and Finance Committee, looking beyond purchase costs and narrow IT returns.
Benefits can include lower maintenance costs, fewer disruptions, safety improvements, a better passenger experience and wider benefits for society, though many are difficult to measure in financial terms.
These questions are explored in UITP’s new publication, From Digital Investment to Value, presented during the meetings. Based on a survey of more than 40 public transport organisations in 25 countries and territories, it finds that digitalisation is entering a new phase.
The challenge is no longer adoption, but turning digital capability into lasting economic and societal value. The main obstacles to progress are now organisational and financial
Learning, not copying
The aim of the week was never to precisely replicate the solutions members saw. Conditions around privacy, regulation, procurement and infrastructure differ widely between markets. Instead, members focused on a more useful question: which principles behind these successes can be transferred?
UITP will continue to work on these questions through its Committees, helping members understand why solutions work and how they can be scaled.
For anyone looking to exchange with peers on how to make new technology work for their own network, the UITP Summit in Hamburg in June 2027 offers the next opportunity.