Digital maturity in tram systems: Model design and practical application

Abstract

The ongoing digital transformation generates demand among companies for tools that will allow them to assess their current stage of advancement in the digital transformation process and support them in developing a further development plan. Digital maturity assessment models meet these needs. The article presents the framework of a new digital maturity assessment model dedicated to tram systems – DMM-TRAM. The model comprises five assessment dimensions covering personnel, information, passenger flow, infrastructure, and operational risk management. These areas are divided into 15 sub-areas, and the system maturity is assessed on a four-point scale, with level 1 representing the basic level and level 4 (leader) representing the excellent level. The developed model was verified on a selected tram system in a selected city in Poland. This allowed us to prove the validity of the defined assessment dimensions and the empirical nature of the requirements formulated for individual assessment levels in each sub-area. The assessment of the selected system indicated diversification of maturity levels in individual areas, as the lowest score obtained was DMAI = 1.67 (Personnel management), and the highest was DMAI = 2.75 (Information management).