Transforming urban mobility is one of the main paradigms for cities, as it is a mandatory step in their road to net-zero, as well as one of the best ways to improve their constituents’ quality of life.
New model, new tools
Many tools have been created in recent years to transform urban mobility models. One of the challenges was to ease access to a broad range of mobility services. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is the preferred solution, as it integrates these services on a digital platform that commuters can use with a single point of access. Technology and innovation are key elements to make mobility services more accessible.
According to the Arval Mobility Observatory barometer in 2021, 71% of the companies surveyed have already implemented mobility alternatives such as bikes, car sharing or mobility budget. MaaS is the tool that can help corporates better understand the mobility of their employees and nudge them to make more sustainable choices.
Ronan Perrier, Head of Mobility for Corporates, Arval BNP Paribas
However, the challenge is even wider when it englobes the social aspect of accessibility: sustainable mobility needs to be more inclusive. Solutions need to be affordable for all socio-economic levels of society, to be accessible to all, be it people with disability or people with no access to digital tools. This transformation should not rhyme with digital fracture.
A concrete example: the city of Dijon (France)
Unveiled during the 2019 edition of the Movin’On Summit – the world summit on sustainable mobility – the city of Dijon’s OnDijon project aims to use sustainable mobility to improve both its carbon footprint and social inclusion.
In line with the values of the Movin’On ecosystem, the public and private sectors collaborated to build the Dijon city of the future.
It is not easy to build smart cities as there are so many factors to take into account: social, political, governance, infrastructure etc. This is why we created a Movin’On community of interest with other cities, to create a toolbox to scale up smart cities.
Denis Hameau, Deputy Mayor, City of Dijon
With a unique digital platform, the City can have a central management tool for public spaces and connected infrastructure of the 24 municipalities around Dijon. This modern technology will help improve public policies and enable new services for residents with connected infrastructure (traffic lights, road screens, etc.) managed from a central management point that will bring more security and fluidity. It will help the City achieve significant energy consumption savings and make the public space safer with new communication tools.
Challenges ahead
In order to have a real impact and improve quality of life, data is key as it provides information that helps monitor services that are working well and identify where improvements are needed. However, the global challenge becomes the standardisation of the data, not only on the technical side, but also on the semantic one.
To scale up smart cities and have common tools, they need to speak the same language and have a common approach. Furthermore, once the data is collected, there is a serious stake on data ownership and cybersecurity. To avoid any data leaks, or any controversy about how data is used, it is crucial to find the right way of collecting and storing the data. This is a key topic that a Movin’On community of interest aims to tackle.
Finally yet importantly, are all cities equal in their transformation? It seems that the bigger the city, the more challenging the infrastructure transformation will be. This is the case for investments but also for coordinating all services to build a multimodal offer.
For very large cities where commutes are much longer, it will be more difficult to offer a shorter and more affordable solution while maintaining a certain level of service quality.
Gilles Boudou, Head of Public Authorities Partnerships, Movin’On
To know more about this topic, you can watch the dedicated Movin’On talk show.
A One Bank approach to solve the future of clean mobility
Clean mobility is a key component of the cities of tomorrow, which will include improvements such as MaaS. BNP Paribas brings a full range of expertise in financing, leasing, corporate fleets, insurance, etc., to offer a holistic approach to sustainable mobility that is essential to scale up and better support our clients in their transition.
Arval, a fully owned BNP Paribas company, brings its expertise in corporate fleets and vehicle leasing. Its extensive portfolio of services provide tailored solutions to corporates in accelerating energy transition.