Your journey of the future?

The alarm in your smartphone goes off 10 minutes earlier than usual this morning. That’s because, due to preparations for the popular end of summer event in the city, the congestion is expected to be more severe than usual and you should catch an earlier bus. The alarm time has been worked out taking into account your morning routine (monitored by your smartwatch or fitness band), the weather forecast (rain expected at 7am) and the fact that you went to bed late last night (sleep tracking – this morning you’re likely to be slower than usual). 30 minutes later the phone buzzes again – it’s time to leave if you want to catch the bus (don’t forget your smart umbrella with rain, wind, pressure and temperature sensors – these crowd-sourced weather reports really are useful).

While walking to the bus stop your phone suggest a small detour, for some reason the town square is very crowded this morning. Although you pass your favourite coffee shop on your way and they have a 20% discount today, the phone (location awareness) does not alert you about it – after all you’re in a hurry today!

At the WiFi and bluetooth enabled bus stop, your arrival has been registered (check-in) and the driver of the next bus to arrive has been updated on the number of passengers waiting to be picked up – he now knows to slightly increase his speed if possible, as the loading might take quite some time. The bus company is also notified and they are already deploying an extra bus to cope with the increased demands along your route. After your morning walk you feel fresh and energised. You notice a woman with two children aged around 4 and 7 waiting for the bus, enjoying themselves while interacting with a touch-enabled information screen installed at the bus stop.

Boarding the bus went surprisingly smooth as almost all passengers were using tickets stored in their smartphones, so there was only one time consuming cash payment. Already on the bus you take out a tablet from your bag to catch up on some news and emails using the free on-board WiFi service. You suddenly realise that you forgot to charge your phone, so you connect it to the USB charging point next to the seat. Although the traffic is really slow, you have actually managed to go through most of your work emails, so the time on the bus is by no means wasted.

Upon arrival at the office (the bus dropped you off in front of the entrance) your boss tells you that there is an unplanned visit to a remote site so you book a shared car for the journey to the meeting, with a folding bike in the boot.

You park in a different car share parking bay (which is actually a member’s unused driveway) and use the bike for the rest of the journey. Your travel app gives you instruction via your bluetooth headphones and suggests to speed up on the bike adjusting to your fitness level. Because of your asthma, the app suggests a route that avoids a particularly polluted area.

The folding bike is great because you’re able to put it in the boot of the cab (which you ordered automatically from the app) and return it to another car share vehicle near your office. You’re in a hurry, so no green reward points today I’m afraid.

There’s an event on in town today, which will have an impact on the journey home, so your app suggests you leave work early to avoid congestion and telecommute (work remotely) for the rest of the day.