BMW and the municipality of Rotterdam work together to realise a new vision of future mobility. In which sustainability, traffic safety, accessibility and traffic flow are important. Their newest pilot is Smart City Travel.
It aims at commuters who (regularly) drive from outside the city to the inner city of Rotterdam. BMW, Rotterdam, and Erasmus University Rotterdam are investigating ways of enticing the motorists to park their car at a P+R on the outskirts of the city. And continue the last part of their journey by public transport or shared transport.
After a BMW driver enters the destination in the navigation, the participant is asked immediately if he or she wishes to use alternative transport. If the participant agrees, the system checks the availability of a parking space at the P+R. The spot is then automatically booked. When someone wants to use a bike, a reservation is made immediately using MOBIAN. If one chooses a Felyx shared scooter, the availability of that scooter at the selected P+R is checked. The booking is then made via the Felyx app.
MOBIAN offers its bicycles at so-called MobiHubs. In Rotterdam, these hubs can be found at the Van Nelle Factory and for this pilot also at Slinge, Kralingse Zoom and Meijersplein. In the future, the offer will be extended to at least ten locations with a total of 100 shared bicycles. Felyx, for its part, offers shared electric scooters without a fixed location throughout the city.
Liveability of the city
“We want to learn what it takes to motivate BMW drivers to first make this smart choice in advance and then actually switch when an alternative mode is actively offered,” says Marc Bras, Head of Mobility Services at BMW Group Netherlands. “By offering potentially healthier, cheaper, and faster alternative transport from the edge of the city center, we contribute to the liveability of the city.”
“The approach of BMW and Rotterdam is unique”, says Dorrith Dijkzeul, Strategic Advisor Mobility at the municipality of Rotterdam. “With this pilot, we are connecting the motorist directly to the shared transport providers. We are not only testing how the trip can be as smooth as possible. But also how we can tempt the motorist to make the switch. In this way, we are working towards a healthier city.”
