STRATEGIES Sustainable Mobility International Transportation (67) 2 | 2015 18 Solutions for a global challenge - Made in Germany German Partnership for Sustainable Mobility as-a-solutions-network Germany is a world leader in sustainable, innovative and efficient mobility solutions. By gathering German knowledge and expertise, the GPSM makes a valuable contribution to the international dialogue on smart transportation and to sustainable development worldwide. O ver the last decade, the total number of private cars has increased by more than 25% to 850 million worldwide. Transport consumes half of the global oil production. As 90% of the transport sector is dependent on oil, most wheels on the planet would not roll without it. We expect the emission of CO 2 e in the transport sector to double to 1,000,000,000,000 tonnes from 2000 to 2050. At the same time, many people across the globe still do not have access to adequate means of transport: One billion people lack all-weather roads in their local area, where the nearest drivable street is over half an hour away by foot. Other cities suffer from major congestion and air pollution. The challenge is obvious: providing adequate means of transport while minimizing environmental impact and maintaining a high quality of life. The German Partnership for Sustainable Mobility (GPSM) serves as a guide to sustainable mobility and green logistics solutions from Germany. As a platform for exchanging knowledge, expertise and experience, the GPSM supports the transformation towards sustainability in developing and emerging countries. It serves as a network of information from academia, businesses, civil society and associations. The friends of the GPSM already provides their services in developing and emerging countries, others develop ideas and concepts. Some of our friends’ expertise is outlined in the following. Contact: Michel Arnd michel.arnd@german-sustainable-mobility.de Ridesharing in developing and emerging countries Carpooling or ridesharing is nothing new in developing countries. Limited access to private automobiles and the generally low income level have helped drive the growth of these ways to travel. Many countries also encourage sharing rides by allowing only cars occupied by more than one individual to enter their mega-cities, a practice that has for instance spurred the growth of the so-called “Jockey” in Jakarta, Indonesia. Countries that have already established positive cultural norms around sharing rides provide great landscapes for appbased or “dynamic” ridesharing 1 (not rideselling 2 ) innovations. Here are three areas where new technologies can increase the adoption of carpooling: Trust - Increased safety through verified user profiles based on photos, user ratings and detailed contact information. Trust is the currency of successful peer-to-peer marketplaces, and new technologies make identity verification reliable and easy. User preferences allow drivers and passengers to automatically filter rides, for example, by More about us: www.germansustainable-mobility.de Sustainable Mobility STRATEGIES International Transportation (67) 2 | 2015 19 gender, smoking preference, or place of work. Payment - Cashless payment systems eliminate the need for negotiating prices and make the transaction transparent for both passengers and drivers. (In some developing countries, cashless mobile payment is already common practice). Users will worry less about getting ripped off or not receiving their payment. Increasing access - Advanced algorithms are designed to maximize the potential for a carpool match. Individuals in more suburban or rural areas have greater transparency about who from the neighboring village is commuting at a similar time. There are numerous additional advantages that go above and beyond this summary. For more information about the benefits of dynamic carpooling for emerging and developing countries, I would be pleased to get in touch with you. Katina Schneider, Match Rider, Heidelberg (DE), Katina@matchrider.de or on twitter @__katina__ www.matchrider.de 1 Definition of ridesharing: Synonym for carpooling forming of a carpool with a private vehicle for a specific route. The driver determines when and where the trip will go. The ride takes place even if no person joins. Generally the costs of the ride are shared. (Source: Zukunft Mobilitaet) 2 Definition of ride-selling: Offering rides on a private vehicle. The passenger determines whether the ride happens and the destination of the ride. The ride would not take place without a request from a third party. The price of the ride is generally higher than the cost of the trip. (Source: Zukunft Mobilitaet) Public transport in difficult topographies and neighborhoods with no access Metrocables/ urban ropeway systems are excellent means to help cities master their transportation and mobility challenges, from crossing rivers, climbing mountains, bypassing and reducing traffic congestion. One may be familiar with the use of ropeways on mountains. This is where much of modern ropeway technology has been deployed and developed over the past hundred years. Today, that same technology is being brought down from the mountain and incorporated into cities as an integral part of urban public transportation networks on nearly every continent. Some cities have quickly adopted ropeway systems as a cost-effective, quickly implemented, low-footprint, and safe mode of urban transportation. The ropeway is a means of public transport that can be optimally linked to existing transport systems. Particularly in cases where there are barriers to overcome (such as traffic congestion, buildings, waterways, roads or railway lines), ropeways may cost less than groundbased transport systems, which require expensive bridges or tunnels to circumvent obstacles. The Caracas Metrocables, San Agustín in-Venezuela Due to population growth and an absence of suitable town planning, before the Metrocables system was built, large parts of the 70-hectare district were only reachable via winding steps and narrow footpaths. In order to integrate San Agustín with the rest of the city, new roads were designed. These plans, however, were never realized because they would have required the demolition of 20-30 % of all houses in the district. Instead, a ropeway system was designed to work around that challenge. Today, this system provides the 40,000 inhabitants of San Agustín with a fast and convenient link to both the road network and the subway system located at the base of the hill. The Caracas Metrocables have a direct positive impact on quality of life: • Commuters save money since they can transfer directly to the metro line instead of paying two or more fares. Total travel times have decreased by up to an hour. • Children can access schools safely and in much less time. • Stations were built as community centers, integrating a concert hall, educational facilities, shops, and a sports hall. • Riders add “eyes on the streets”, thereby helping to reduce crime in the area. The Caracas Metrocables is a success. This is why Metro de Caracas is planning another nine systems across the city. At the same time, Metrocables acts as a showcase for other cities in Latin America as well as the rest of the developing world. Katharina Anna Bernard, Doppelmayr Cable Car, Wolfurt (AT) katharina.bernard@doppelmayr.com www.doppelmayr.com STRATEGIES Sustainable Mobility International Transportation (67) 2 | 2015 20 Improving public transport by smart technology in Dar es Salaam The era of mega-cities and the urbanization trend, with roughly 6 billion people expected to live in cities by 2050, come with certain challenges. To our belief, they come with tremendous opportunities as well, opportunities driven by technology and by the right use of connectivity and data. The Smart Cities approach rests upon the belief that the future can be shaped through the deep understanding of cities. Mobility is a crucial element for the positive evolution of urban life and is a core element of cities’ life. Therefore, without a strong, functional mobility system, cities - no matter how ‘smart’ they are - will collapse. And technology plays a big role in this: Thanks to its advances and to the programs and methods developed, we can not only map a full city and its transport system, but also analyze commuting behavior, transport patterns and perks, and improve them. We can make a city smarter and ensure its functionality and survival. Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is an example of what we do. As a city stuck in traffic gridlock, with commutes taking an average of three hours, the city has the choice of either becoming a car-dominated transport city - which will lead to an extreme amount of time and human energy wasted in commuting - or a demand-driven public transport city, that can save time and make commuting more enjoyable. We at ally can support the city implement the latter choice. Three major steps are needed: 1. To understand a city and its public transportation system, the first step is to map its major roads. In Dar es Salaam, this was done in a joint effort with several organizations including the World Bank, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), international Red Cross chapters and ally. 2. Once the basic city grid is mapped, what follows is the tracking of the transportation system. In Dar es Salaam, the dominating form of public transport is the Daladala system, and their routes were tracked with GPS devices, post-processed, and converted to the GTFS standard, which was later incorporated in the ally app. 3. A prerequisite for data-driven decisions is having a sufficient pool of data producers: the users. A comprehensive user base will be able to produce meaningful data as a basis for smart solutions. In Berlin, for example, we can analyze the demand of public transport to and from Tegel Airport and compare it with the currently available public transport options. Based on the insights gained, the relevant authorities can make focused decisions for demand-driven public transport. Technology and data can have a major and above-all positive impact on the cities’ urban evolution and mobility. Such visionary thinking is taking shape in ideas such as Autonomous Driving and Dynamic On- Demand interactive systems, that will connect people with Public Transportation on the road to achieve real-time mobility needs fulfilment and thus debunking the old system based on historical outdated assumptions. Because this is the era of digitalization: When intelligent data provides immediate feedback that can be used every day by governments and citizens to tackle transport and mobility challenges, we at ally join the revolution and provide tools to make changes possible. Ulrich Strötz, uli@allyapp.com, @ustroetz Isabel Flores, isabel@allyapp.com, @ally_helena Erica Couto, erica@allyapp.com, @mscoutoe ally, Berlin (DE) www.allyapp.com The team red Akademie gGmbH The team red Akademie, founded in December 2014, is recognized as nonprofit organization. As part of the team red group, it offers an open and transparent platform for communication and exchange in the context of the transformation to a post-fossil fuel society. The focus is on mobility and transport, but all industry-related fields, from energy to behavioral psychology, are included in the discussion. Our objective and proposal The idea of the team red Akademie is to use the consulting and implementation expertise that team red has gathered in the over 12 years of its commitment to future mobility. It aims to provide this know-how to municipalities, companies, associations, NGOs and other institutions for their daily work. For this purpose, we organize workshops, seminars, meetings, conferences, trainings and educational trips. The academy provides the framework for a high-quality network of stakeholders in the mobility market. It is an orientation platform, a booster for startups, a discussion forum and a place for publicizing new ideas, all these with the aim of developing a low- CO 2 and “post-fossil” mobility system. Communication activities such as smalland large-scale events, virtual meetings using online conference technology, and not least the “Bürgerbüro Elektromobilität” (Citizens Office for Electro-mobility) in Berlin are open to businesses and citizens alike. The team red Akademie supports expert dialogue and knowledge exchange on an international level by organizing educational journeys to the scenes of innovative mobility solutions. Details including the program of academy events can be found on the following websites: • www.mobilitaets-akademie.de • www.e-cademy.net • www.learning-journey.com René Waßmer, team red Akademie gGmbH, Berlin (DE) rene.wassmer@team-red.net