BOARDING

Safety is a central concern in the development of coach travel, for passengers and staff alike. Joshua Feinberg, president of DCSMI, thinks lifting heavy luggage will soon be completed by machines:

“Loading luggage on and off the coach will become automated, increasing staff safety by reducing the number of back injuries they sustain.”

Harnessing existing mobile technology for better customer experience is a central theme running through the coach of the future. Before you even board the coach, the smartphone in your pocket is working to make your journey as seamless as possible.

“From a customer-facing side, ticketless travel is next up on the docket.” Vincent Panico from Moo Moo Networks told us.

“As a customer with a smartphone that has the relevant ticket passes through the doors, their presence is detected, and their virtual ticket is automatically punched.”

INTERIOR

For the interior of the coach, we’ve added some more of our own thoughts on what could be on the horizon. Rather than the traditional row of seats you see in today’s coach travel, we’ve imagined each passenger in their individual pod, full of technologies to keep them occupied on their journey (more on that in the next section). For truly peaceful travel, each pod has its own door for getting on and off the coach.

Advancements in coach and road safety will bridge the gap between coach and train travel, allowing passengers to move around at their own leisure and undergo a variety of activities.

To the back of the coach are business pods, allowing those travelling professionally to be productive on their journey. At the front is a bar, serving hot and cold drinks and food throughout the journey.

Coaches will also be better at meeting your health and lifestyle needs. Our coach of the future as an onboard gym bike, with the energy you generate going straight to the coach’s battery. When you’re done, head off to the onboard shower to remain fresh for the remainder of the journey.

Ensuring each passenger has a smooth and enjoyable journey will be robot staff, equipped with advanced artificial intelligence. Able to communicate, take orders and fulfil them, we’ve depicted our very own Sid going about his work on the coach.

Passengers will be connected throughout their journey from start to finish.

“The main new technologies that will be integrated into the coach will be around seamlessly connecting the coach with the outside world. This not only includes communicating road conditions to smart cities and other cars, but also being fully connected to passengers and their home.” Skiplist’s Fahad Shoukat discussed the impact of a fully integrated network of IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

What this means is that the coach, and the robot staff onboard, already know a number of your journey preferences before you get on board. They know your food and drink preferences, favourite new album and ideal movie choice – information that your smartphone has shared with the vehicle.

Once your journey is complete, the coach’s integrated technology can communicate with your end destination.

“The restaurant or hotel you’re travelling to can see your GPS location and knows your ETA. Their AI-driven robot will handle advanced meal orders at your destination. So regardless of whether you want chicken, fish, beef, or a kid's meal, you can have the meal waiting for you at the perfect temperature, on the table, when you arrive.”

If you’re travelling home, the coach communicates with your smart-home devices to prepare for your arrival – switching on the central heating and preparing a chill-out playlist after a long day.