New York-based Dan Patterson, of TechRepublic and ZDNet, spoke with Tom Kirschbaum, co-founder and managing director of door2door, who explains how big data and automation will transform smart cities by making public transportation more efficient

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Dan Patterson: Could you help us understand how big data can help make transportation more efficient and effective?

Tom Kirschbaum: The core of transportation, mass transit with buses and subways, hasn’t changed at all in the last 25 years. The Internet had little-to-zero impact on, for example, how a red bus in London is utilized. That will change through data, by applying sophisticated new technology to transform this rather outdated, old-fashioned system of mass transit into a world of on-demand dynamic services. Data plays a crucial role as it allows cities and transportation providers to precisely analyze how things work today and where opportunities for greater convenience lie.

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