Going forward
Ruter has a vision of sustainable freedom of movement for everyone. In a market where customers are constantly expecting more transport options and a more individualised service, it will be important for Ruter that they own the preferred customer interface for mobility services in the region. Only then will Ruter be able to influence and ensure that the needs of individual customers also involve sustainable adaptation in terms of the environment, land use and accessibility for all.
Ruter's services are based on large network systems, which are constantly increasing in complexity as new forms of mobility and transport are added. When using artificial intelligence, one has an opportunity to adopt the use of new technology to utilise the opportunities and make use of this system more efficient. Better travel suggestions, which is the example we have worked with in the sandbox project, may result in more customers using Ruter's services. If artificial intelligence can also be used to more optimally utilise the capacity of the mobility system, it is possible to reduce costs, both financially and in terms of resources, and thus offer the general public a more sustainable transport service.
Ruter has seen that the discussions concerning transparency, purpose and responsibility in the sandbox project are also relevant to other projects that they are working on. They therefore wish to ensure that this knowledge is transferred to other parts of their operations. They will continue to explore the use of AI in their services when they consider that this can make a positive improvement to the customer experience or enable the service to operate more efficiently. The experiences from the sandbox project relating to transparency, purpose limitation and obligation to provide information make the company better equipped to ensure that these services are developed in accordance with the regulations, and customer rights and expectations.
For Ruter, trust is the foundation of their relationship with customers and the general public. It is crucial to retain this trust when developing new services that have not traditionally been part of the public transport system, or the use of new technology that many customers consider themselves unfamiliar with. Transparency is a fundamental prerequisite for trust. Good measures for safeguarding privacy, combined with a transparent and simple explanation, can lead to customers maintaining their trust in Ruter, and Ruter being preferred over similar services.
It is a goal of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority that this report contributes to providing more practical guidance, including for other enterprises that want to ensure transparency in their AI solutions. The assessments are particularly relevant for other actors that want to develop services for personalised recommendations based on the users' own data and behavioural patterns, both in the transport sector and in other areas. The discussions on how to provide information about the complicated processing of personal data in AI will also be relevant to anyone who uses complex technical solutions - both with and without AI.