London Rail Company to use Blockchain to Track Passenger Behaviour

United Kingdom: Since the rise of Bitcoin, Blockchain has been the hot topic around. There are ample number of applications where Blockchain can be used and one of them is Blockchain in transportation. Big players in transportations recognise the opportunity Blockchain represents for the industry.

A startup DOVU (the global marketplace for transport data) which based in London with aim to lead the marketplace for transport data and to improve the experience of all their rail customers have initiated a relationship with FTSE 250(an index that contains the 101st to 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange) – registered rail company Go-Ahead.

There are some serious investment interests behind this functional relationship. DOVU was launched two years ago and is backed by seed funding from InMotion Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s investment arm, and Creative England, a fund supported by the UK government. Go-Ahead credits itself for more than one billion (i.e., one hundred crores) passenger journeys per year.

Incentivizing Alterations in Passenger Behaviour

DOVU’s project on Blockchain powered reward platform will first be rolled out on Go-Ahead’s Thameslink and Southern Rail services “to learn more about its customers and to incentivize changes in passenger behaviour.” Users will be able to “earn” cryptocurrency i.e., loyalty points when they share their travel data which will help Go-Ahead for a better understanding of the travel habits and to communicate better with customers according to the report by TechCrunch.

Blockchain or Buzzword?

It Sounds, DOVU and Go-Ahead’s scheme sound like the major illustration of a ‘Blockchain’ project which is aiming to centralized an already centralized industry. It seems that ‘Blockchain Technology’ is used more than a buzzword tacked on traditional reward points for completing post ride surveys.

This also shows us an illustration of how ‘Blockchain Technology’ continues to develop post-2017 Bitcoin word. What are your thoughts on the use of ‘the Blockchain’ in this instance and also sharing of the passenger data via cryptocurrency data via cryptocurrency rewards by DOVU and GO-Ahead’s tie-up? Let us know by commenting below.