smart mobility

Five Reasons Every City or Municipality Should Implement Smart Mobility

28 October 2021

Innovation

Ask any resident of a random city or municipality about everyday annoyances and they are likely to bring up mobility issues, from congestion woes to a lack of good parking. A Smart Mobility policy can help tackle such challenges with the help of a well-thought-out approach and technological assistance such as sensors and cameras. With extensive collaboration efforts and the implementation of an intelligent mobility network, the most pervasive mobility pain points can be addressed.

Smart Mobility was the subject of our most recent Innovation Thursday webinar. Our experts explored the topic in depth. Watch the webinar here, gain inspiration from a variety of case studies and discover the four steps you must take to implement smart mobility.

Smart Mobility for dummies

Smart Mobility redefines our traditional approach to urban mobility. New technological developments make it possible to connect and innovate mobility in all its aspects. This technology ensures accurate information, which can be used to make policy decisions now and proactively design policies for the future.

That results in a more efficient, sustainable and integrated use of all modes of transportation, mobility services and shared infrastructure. Urban residents and visitors can seamlessly combine their own bicycles and cars with all kinds of public transportation, shared services (car, scooter or bike sharing), on-demand solutions (Uber, Lyft) and shared infrastructure (charging stations).

(City) councils can use Smart Mobility to create visible changes in the urban landscape. With access to integrated mobility services, for instance, people are less likely to buy their own vehicles. This has an immediate effect on a city's liveability. We present the five most important reasons to implement Smart Mobility below.

1. Less congestion

Traffic jams are our worst source of aggravation, especially now that everyone's heading back to the office. We're back to wasting huge amounts of time stuck in traffic again, and it's even harder to take now that we've experienced the difference. The Vlaams Verkeerscentrum (Flemish Traffic Center) has determined that journeys that should take 30 minutes often require an additional 16 minutes. Besides, cars account for 28% of carbon emissions. Moreover, we don't necessarily care about driving our own car, we just want a fast trip from door to door. That requires a combination of multiple types of transportation. To achieve this, various parties, such as cities, car manufacturers and transportation companies, must work together effectively.

Appropriate digital support and an integrated data platform can help make it possible. An app that is based on the Smart Mobility concept can offer personalized proposals for faster, easier travel.

smart mob

2. Less hazardous traffic situations

At all times of day, many different vehicles may be found driving around every city or municipality. Various types of mobility intersect, which can lead to dangerous situations. Consider pedestrians forced into the street to avoid shared scooters on the sidewalk, for example, or cyclists who have to make a turn alongside trucks. Emergency services can also have trouble making their way through busy intersections. By committing to Smart Mobility and making good use of all available real-time data, cities and municipalities can adapt their traffic management to fit the current situation. Lights that turn red automatically when an ambulance approaches, for example.

3. Easier parking

Another major annoyance is lack of parking spots. Again, Smart Mobility offers citizens personalized solutions. For instance, an app can be used to help locate a spot based on the requirements. After all, there's a difference between parking for a quick visit to the post office or a leisurely restaurant dinner. The same app can be used to provide additional virtual municipal services as well. Residents could use it to indicate a need for additional electric vehicle charging stations, for example.

4. Streets in better condition

Streets that are in poor condition can disrupt traffic badly, particularly in winter. When data is collected continuously, there is always information available on the condition, through the use of sensors or by raising awareness among citizens and providing an app that allows them to interact with their city or municipality. If snow threatens, digital signage can be used to close off streets temporarily until a gritter has done its work.

5. Putting citizens first

Like customers, citizens always come first. They also expect their city or municipality to provide personalized services to meet their specific wishes and needs perfectly. A personal mobility plan for trips downtown is an example of such a service. It's important to treat their personal data with care in such cases, of course. This can be achieved by allowing them to control their own data using Pods (Personal Online Data Stores). The Flemish Government already relies on this technology to facilitate the interaction of citizens' and companies' sensitive data. Want to find out more? Get inspired at Trefdag Digitaal Vlaanderen 2021.

Discover various examples of Smart Mobility in practice

Watch our Innovation Thursday webinar on Smart Mobility. We present a variety of cases as inspiration and describe the four steps to take to start implementing your intelligent mobility network.

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Harelbeke

Harelbeke is one of the forerunners when it comes to the concept of smart cities. However, as a smaller city, Harelbeke does not have the resources that Flemish cities such as Antwerp, Ghent or others enjoy. Nevertheless, they are managing just fine and finding the right balance, mainly thanks to a fairly far-reaching technological standardization, good consultation between government and administration and by getting down to work.