• 43percent of Savvy Commuters feel that they receive plenty of mental space when commuting
• 40% of Singaporeans feel that their cityinfrastructure is becoming more strained every year
• Technologyexpected to play an instrumental role in enhancing commuter experience

SINGAPORE - MediaOutReach - 26 November 2020 - Ericsson's latest ConsumerLab report explorescommuter behavior both before and during the COVID-19 crisis, reflectingconsumers' opinions and habits that could be used to offer a more satisfactorycommuting experience in the increasingly digital and connected world oftomorrow.

Commuting in Singaporehas been affected by the COVID-19 crisis with measures during thisunprecedented time influencing changes in consumer mobility patterns and futureexpectations. Consumers are demanding more from their devices, mobileconnectivity, and vehicles during their daily commute to wrap up their work orpartake in social and recreational activities while commuting. The Augmenting the Daily Commute report surveyed 16,000commuters in 16 cities, including 1,000 from Singapore who used different transportmodes, including ride and car sharing services.

Mental space for a positive commuting experience

The report exploreshow the most satisfied commuters -- a group Ericsson has named "Savvy Commuters" --see their commute as more than just time spent moving from one point to another.Savvy Commuters actively create positive conditions for their trips, using itto free up time for the rest of the day and turning it into an experience worthhaving.

A crucial criterionfor a positive experience is the feeling of having enough physical and mentalspace. Physical space is dependent on the transport mode but mental space canbe recreated through digital engagement. In Singapore, 43 percent of SavvyCommuters feel that they receive plenty of mental space during their commute,an additional 42 percent shared that they have sufficient personal space whencommuting. This group immerse themselves in different digital experiences tocreate a sense of space, with 54 percent of them relying on their smartphonesand 46 percent using headphones to achieve this purpose.

Commuters are concernedabout the city's mobility infrastructure

Mass transportationremains the most common form of transportation mode by Singaporeans (56percent), with 37 percent doing so with their personal cars. Key motivationscited for using the current mode of transport are its convenience (58 percent),cost (45 percent) and time efficiency (46 percent). When it comes to time spenton commuting, majority of Singaporeans spend less than 90 minutes commuting aday (64 percent), while 36 percent spend 90 minutes and more. Unsurprisingly,reducing time spent on commuting is a key priority for most respondents (over70 percent) compared to having control of their arrival time with a longercommute (almost 30 percent).   

Despite being one of the few cities in the studywith greatest use of mass transport modes, more than 60 percent of respondents inSingapore have a negative perception of the city's transportation system. 39percent of respondents feel the growing strain in the city's mobilityinfrastructure,  while 25 percent believe thatit is reaching a saturation pointand is working over the intended capacity.

Safety tops the list of conceptual mobility services

Testing and analyzing16 mobility concepts across three categories of "Safety and Assistance","Entertainment", and "Convenience", Ericsson found that consumers are mostinterested in services and features that enhance safety and reduce stress indemanding situations. Majority of respondents show high interest in enhancedassisted driving features supported by connectivity, where information iscollected from vehicles and sensors regarding hazards beyond the horizon.

Half of therespondents from Singapore are highly interested in safety features that sendalerts when a driver is not paying attention to a danger ahead, alerting boththe driver and other road users. This is backed by their willingness to pay apremium for safety services and features such as distracted driver detection(35 percent) and see through cars powered by 5G (32 percent).

When it comes toentertainment and convenience, 37 percent voiced high interest for augmentedreality windows on trains and buses. Nearly one third look forward to seeing someform of in-seat Augmented Reality (AR) passenger entertainment, while 34percent have stated their preference for mood personalization experiences. 39percent of respondents are also highly interested in continual in-vehicleconnectivity that offers alternative route suggestions from the vehicle toavoid call drops or lags along the way to boost their productivity.

"5G technology will playan instrumental role in delivering an enhanced commuter experience, alongsidethe safety, efficiency and sustainability of urban transportation in the yearsto come. Through our continuous investments, partnerships and innovation, weaim to deliver the best connectivity experience for commuters across thedifferent modes of transportation," said Martin Wiktorin, Head of EricssonSingapore, Brunei and Philippines "We can take inspiration by understandingwhat consumers value during their daily commute and drive positive changes todeliver satisfaction and enhance the commuting experience as more people headback to work."

The report alsoincludes highlights around commuter expectations on the future of mobility inSingapore such as:

• 61 percent believe that shared mobilityservices will be used more than today in 5 years' time, with the main reasonbeing to reduce congestion.
• Among the sixteen conceptual mobility services,most Singaporeans expect entertainment services to take the longest to enter themarket, with augmented reality maps expected to roll out only in the next 4.5years.
• Globally, 60 percent respondents believeautonomous vehicles will completely revolutionize the commuting experiencewithin the next 10 years. This figure rises to 72 percent in Singapore withconsumers indicating that new automotive companies will lead the autonomousvehicle revolution. Interestingly, Singapore consumers (38 percent) arerevealed to rely much more heavily on government authorities to lead thedeployment of autonomous driving compared to other countries in Asia Pacific,with only 25 percent of the region expecting government authorities to do so.

ABOUT THE STUDY:

This study isrepresentative of the opinions of 130 million smartphone users globally. Thedata were gathered through online interviews with 16,000 people between ages 15- 69 years-old from Bangkok, Berlin, Delhi, Dubai, Jakarta, London, LosAngeles, New York, Paris, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm,Sydney and Tokyo. Of which 1,000 users are based in Singapore. In addition tothe consumer interviews, expert interviews were conducted with seniorexecutives from telecom operators, mobility service providers and vehiclemanufacturers between March and April 2020 to gain a perspective on industrysentiments around the future of mobility for consumers.

ABOUT ERICSSON:

Ericsson enablescommunications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. Thecompany's portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, andEmerging Business. It is designed to help our customers go digital, increaseefficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson's innovation investments havedelivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of peoplearound the world. Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on NasdaqNew York. www.ericsson.com