NZ lags in transportation tech

New Zealand is slipping behind other Asia Pacific nations in embracing new technologies for getting around.

A survey conducted across the Asia Pacific region on behalf of Ford Motor Company found our use of transportation technology is not up there with countries in Asia and beyond.

Regionally, one in four respondents to the survey said they use a ride-hailing app such as Uber more than once a week to get around. Respondents in China and India were the most likely to use ride-hailing apps (both 28%).

On the other end of the spectrum were Australia and New Zealand, where respondents reported low ride-hailing app usage – only 5% of Au

stralians and 3% of New Zealanders say they regularly use apps to book a car.
Across the region, use of these apps is on the rise, with 32% of respondents reporting increased use over a year earlier. India (42%) and China (33%) were the main drivers of the upward trend. New Zealand reported the lowest increase in use, at 7%, followed by Taiwan (9%) and Australia (12%).

Car-sharing programs are also becoming more popular, with one in five respondents in the region saying their participation in shared-car platforms had increased from a year earlier. Indian respondents were the most likely to report higher use of car sharing, at 33%, followed by China (19%) and Malaysia (16%). 9% of New Zealand respondents reported regular use of car-sharing programs.

“For many, especially in urban environments, car-sharing programs can offer significant benefits,” says John Larsen, director, Ford Smart Mobility, Ford Asia Pacific. “We’re looking at different sharing models in the US, Europe and here in Asia Pacific to explore ways of improving what it’s like to take part in car sharing.”

“In India, for example, we’re running a Ford Smart Mobility experiment to explore a model for easy vehicle sharing among close-knit groups like families or colleagues.”

How New Zealand fared

The survey results illustrated the dominance of the private car in New Zealand’s transportation landscape: 77% reported that they travel by private car regularly (more than once a week), tied with Thailand for the highest rate of all markets surveyed.

Regular reported use of each mode of transportation broke down as follows:
• Private car: 77% of respondents
• Bus: 27%
• Subway, tram or train: 12%
• Car-sharing programs: 9%
• Taxi: 8%
• Electric scooter or motorbike: 3%
• Ride-hailing apps: 3%
• Motorcycle taxi: 2%
Survey respondents were also asked to report on their use of different modes of transportation compared to a year earlier. Increased use broke down as follows:
• Private car: 30% of respondents
• Bus: 18%
• Subway, tram or train: 10%
• Car-sharing programs: 9%
• Taxi: 9%
• Ride-hailing apps: 7%
• Electric scooter or motorbike: 5%
• Motorcycle taxi: 4%

Although respondents in New Zealand were the most likely in Asia Pacific to say they do not use ride-hailing apps (69% reported that they do not use a ride sharing app regularly), 7% said they were now using such apps more than they did a year ago.

Of transport modes that respondents reported using less, buses took the largest hit, with 17% of respondents reporting less bus use than a year earlier. Buses were followed by taxis (15%), private cars (12%), and subways, trams and trains (12%).

New Zealanders reported some of the lowest rates in the region for multi-modal transportation. Only 17% said they use more than one form of transportation on a single journey every day. 68% of respondents said they either never or rarely use multi-modal transportation.

Ford Smart Mobility is the company’s plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics. Ford is undertaking research and development across the technology and transportation landscape, including in-car connectivity, flexible ownership models and car-sharing programs, autonomous vehicles, and much more.