Seamless bi-modal passenger transfers

Abstract

Short-haul planes leaving Amsterdam Airport Schiphol are criticized and/or disliked by many groups, including society, the government, and Actieagenda trein en luchtvaart 2020 (Rijksoverheid, 2020). Due to public opinion and political pressure, the airport is challenged to improve its sustainability. Since the airport relies heavily on hub-connected flights and has public transport nearby, integrating the buses and trains can help enhance the hub-and-spoke model of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

The client is investigated to understand the direction of the outcome. Internal analysis of the company revealed that the airport aims to be the most high-quality airport in the world (Schiphol Group, 2021). To achieve this, the company offers commodities that are (related to) infrastructure and facilities that support this infrastructure. With this, the company mainly relies on digitally supported services. This report concludes that facilitating what is within the transfer is the responsibility of RSG as per their current expertise. Additionally, the company's collaborations show they are committed to knowledge exchange and new business insights, including politics, proving they are "business creators." As a result, this project is shaped around these skills.

To understand how to create seamless passenger transfers, the problem is investigated. The literature review revealed that factors influence passengers' transfer experience: information and signage, distance, ticketing services, safety and security, special services, cleanliness and maintenance, commercial services, baggage services, and environment. To achieve high quality, the passenger has to perceive these as high quality. The research revealed that the less cognitive effort a passenger needs with the factor, the more seamless the travel is. With this in mind, the status quo of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is understood via an explorative research approach. This graduation zoomed into the bi-modal product offered by KLM and Thalys.

The information and ticketing services must be improved for quality improvement within the current product. By looking at the offer at three comparable airport hubs, insights into the factors influencing the passenger experience have been gained. After an iteration of these ideas, evaluation sessions are held with internal stakeholders to make the ideas impactful and feasible. A session with KLM is held to evaluate the ideas. The evaluation sessions are analyzed to get a deeper understanding of the ideas. The ideas are put on three horizons, each based on priority. As for implementation, the airport depends on the airlines and train operators; the strategy for success is to create a clear, quick and easily implementable plan. To achieve this, the plan describes responsible parties. The ideas are put on three horizons, each based on priority:
1. Improvements to the current system.
2. Seizing the full potential of the current systems.
3. Changing the system
The ideas are: creating an online boarding pass, putting the departure terminal on the boarding pass, and creating a video to explain the transfer. Integrating the applications will be done, and digital wayfinding will be more feasible later. 
The implementation roadmap explains the steps to create more seamless bi-modal passenger transfers. There are two strategies: either waiting for adoption or promoting adoption.

This thesis describes the process for improving the bi-modal journey at AMS and concludes with an implementation roadmap, a conclusion, discussion, limitations, and recommendations.