With the launch of the Government’s smart cities scheme, the focus has shifted to making travel more convenient in the backdrop of increasing urban congestion.

The use of travel apps is growing rapidly, with 37 per cent of Indians and 34 per cent of Chinese surveyed already using smartphone travel apps at least once a month, according to a new report on ‘Connecting Cities: Mobility Unlocking Potential in Emerging Markets’ by MasterCard.

“Over half of urban dwellers surveyed are happy to share their user data to improve transport in their city, with Chinese (59 per cent) and Indian (53 per cent) residents most keen. About 8 per cent of city residents surveyed in China did not want to share their behavioural data in any circumstances, less than in India (13 per cent) and Brazil (19 per cent),” it said.

The report also found that the appetite for a service that monitors a travel route and advises on suitable alternative travel options was strongest in India (90 per cent), followed by Brazil (85 per cent) and China(77 per cent).

Interestingly, there was strong interest in cars that drive themselves in India (82 per cent), China (77 per cent) and Brazil (73 per cent), as well as cars that can re-program a travel route to avoid congestion.

MasterCard conducted the consumer research online in four countries: Brazil, China, Singapore and India. The sample size across these markets was 750 respondents per country with minimum quotas of 250 in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.

There were minimum quotas of 375 in Brazil for Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is also emerging as a cost-effective solution to mass transit for many emerging economies. “It can only work if all aspects of the journey are fast – there must be either pre-payment or contactless payments if buses are to be boarded quickly,” MasterCard pointed out.

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