PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
How outsourcing can help save the public transport sector Can outsourcing help salvage the public transport sector? In this OpEd, Peter Mohring, Managing Director-Transport, Serco Middle East, explains and makes the case why it has never been timelier for the transport sector to embrace outsourcing to help with post pandemic recovery and surge—Editor.
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he world as we know it has changed. Gone are the days when travel was as simple as jumping on a plane; now we are living in an entirely different world. Of course there is a fundamental need to operate differently, the old ways of doing things no longer apply and the rule book for the transport industry has changed beyond belief. Now, as economies slowly start to normalize and we are able to travel again, albeit in a social distanced way, how do businesses and governments need to adapt? How do we adjust workflows and utilize technology to ultimately deliver the greatest customer experience in an age where everything has changed? Clearly we need to re-imagine the transport sector. Aviation operators, airlines and airports need to make financial efficiencies across the board. At the same time they are still looking to maintain and of course exceed levels of customer service, and this is all whilst they are operating in a completely new environment where health has never been so much on the public’s agenda. A new environment necessitates a new way of working, outsourcing has the potential to deliver critical value to support the sector more than ever during this time, offering specialized expertise, flexibility, cost efficiencies and technological solutions to aid collaborative decision making. Is the aviation industry ready for takeoff again? To understand the potential for outsourcing when it comes to transport, we must first examine the context. As one of the first industries affected, overnight the pandemic 50 NOVEMBER 2020
Peter Mohring, Managing DirectorTransport, Serco Middle East.
sent the aviation industry into crisis mode, with overall air traffic levels down by about 80 percent globally. This obviously came with a huge economic price tag for the industry and all its adjacent segments, such as tourism, hospitality and supply chains that depend on and support the sector. Unsurprisingly cost cutting measures have seen the halting of recruitment and training, reducing workforces, and the cancelling of contracts. However, despite this, what we have seen is the resilience and adaptability of the sector. It has forced us as well to re-imagine outsourcing, and it has stressed the need for
