Organizations still have a long way to go to to fully integrate the social web to connect to their customers. Here are some great examples, curated by Professor of Innovation, Hitendra Patel and the Center for Innovation, Excellence and Leadership (IXL Center). Their book Connectivate! is a collection of real world stories from 54 innovative companies whose breakthroughs are changing the world.

By leveraging today’s confluence of technological and analytical breakthroughs, these companies connect people, businesses, governments and entities in novel and meaningful ways, capturing win-win propositions on the value chain. These companies have created a new economic context, increasingly accessible in a space-time singularity called Always Available.

Real world stories about innovators and innovative companies are an important way to learn, and we place high value on them at Innovation Excellence. The next case study in our Connectivate! series is:

An eco-friendly, reliable, efficiently constructed, cost effective bus transport system.

INNOVATION

A flexible network of buses and stations, that meets the needs of a rapidly growing urban environment without busting city budgets for capital investments in rail, has the capacity to serve an unlimited range of locations throughout Curitiba, achieving the speed and efficiency of a subway system.

SUSTAINABILITY

A highly reliable mass transport system that dramatically reduces automobile usage, fuel consumption and emission levels in the city. A versatile, cost- and time-effective model that can be implemented by making improvements to existing transport infrastructure and vehicles.

RESULTS

A low cost transit system used by over 75% of travelers in Curitiba, a city of three million plus. Eliminates about 27 million automobile trips annually, saving 10 million gallons of fuel and lowering the city’s CO₂ emissions by 25%. A model for developing cities worldwide.

DRIVERS

POPULATION GROWTH:

Curitiba’s rapid population growth taxed the capacity of an antiquated electric trolley system, creating a dire need to improve the public transportation system.

GOVERNMENT PUSH:

The government wanted to stimulate economic growth for the urban population and to facilitate greater mobility by improving the transportation infrastructure.

SERVICE CAPACITY:

The outdated fare payment system and narrow bus doors created transportation bottlenecks, resulting in slow and inefficient service.

BARRIERS

LEGACY CONSTRAINTS:

The legacy electric trolley service followed fixed routes — expansion of service capacity to new routes was constrained by the narrow city streets and a tight municipal budget.

ECONOMIC SETBACKS:

Economic setbacks, including periods of hyperinflation, discouraged development of the roads necessary for an efficient bus transit system.

TECHNOLOGY:

The municipality lacked the technology to develop a system that could reduce congestion at bus terminals.

ENABLERS

ADMINISTRATION:

Mayor Moreira Garcez’s commission for the streets permitted a local power company to explore the possibility of a bus network for the city.

CUT MY COSTS:

The Institute for Research and Urban Planning in Curitiba (IPPUC) constructed roads for buses at 1/10th the cost of laying a subway system, enabling systematic urban and economic development.

DESIGN CHANGES:

Cylindrical tube-shaped station enables passengers to make fare pre-payment; bus design permits commuters to board and exit buses simultaneously.

IMPACT

BUS-ENABLED COMMERCE:

The bus transport network better connects far-flung urban areas, increasing the trade and commerce within the city.

BUILD ON SUCCESS:

Mayor Ivo Aruza Prereir commissioned the IPPUC to plan a integrated transport system that will support further urban development.

SPEEDY SERVICE:

The city municipality reduced the passenger waiting time at the terminals to no more than 15 to 19 seconds per boarding—1/8th less than the original time.

WHAT’S NEXT

The city municipality continues to improve the efficiency of the transport system through installation of sensors in its buses and along public transportation routes. Also, the city municipality plans to utilize 100% alternate energy sources to lower emission levels.

Republished from Innovation Excellence. Original article here.

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