Transcript Urban Gondolas, Aerial Ropeways and Public Transportation

URBAN GONDOLAS,
AERIAL ROPEWAYS AND PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION:
PAST MISTAKES AND FUTURE
STRATEGIES
Ryan O’Connor and Steven Dale
Overview
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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
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Conclusions
Questions / comments
Author profiles
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Ryan O’Connor
BRP hons., PGCertBus, GNZPI
 Presenter
 Town
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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
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Two urban planners with previous involvement with
the ropeway industry, urban transport proposals
and research
Scope and purpose of paper
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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
Current UPT and urban gondola market
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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
Growth in urban ropeway installations
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1
0
2011
2010
2009
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1997
Current UPT and urban gondola market
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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
Mistake 1: The “Urban Disconnect”
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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…
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.
Mistake 2: Chasing the wrong installations
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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?
Mistake 3: Resistance to change
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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
Overview of Solutions
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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
Some of the key solutions...
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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.
Conclusions
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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
Lastly....
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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!
Questions....
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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  [email protected]
 [email protected]