VIDEO: Overcoming the complexities of multimodal travel

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted consumer behavior in many ways, including how people interact with mobile devices.

For multimodal transportation platform Omio, co-founder Naren Shaam says it saw a massive shift to mobile driven by the crisis, with more than 80% of its bookings now coming through the channel.

Yet despite changing consumer preferences, most of the ground transportation market is still offline, he says.

Data is not standardized, nor is there a backend system connecting modes of transportation such as buses and trains. On top of that, some operators aren’t advanced enough or are unwilling to undergo digitization efforts, Shaam says.

Speaking during PhocusWire Pulse: Green Light For Ground Transportation, Shaam explains why many operators are stuck in the past and how regulators, namely in Europe, make digital transformation challenging.

He also discusses the opportunity Omio has to drive sustainable travel in Europe as well as why the industry needs to unite in a product-centric rather than competitive way on sustainability efforts.

Watch the full interview with PhocusWire’s Jill Menze below.