How intelligent mobility can create a better quality of life

The study "Smart Cities - networked living and economic areas" examined and analyzed six aspects of a smart city. Our experts discuss how retail, the real estate industry, energy suppliers, transport companies, mobility providers and administration are helping to make cities smarter and more digital.

Here they provide insights into the contribution smart traffic concepts can make to smart cities.

Mobility - most people still think of it as their own car. This is also reflected in the German transport system. This is based in large part on owning a vehicle. According to the Federal Environment Agency, more than three quarters of private households in Germany (77.4 percent) had at least one car at the beginning of 2020. One in four households even had two or more vehicles. Almost 53 million passenger cars and motorcycles represent motorized private transport in Germany.

But a car only actually spends ten percent of its lifespan in motion. The vehicle offers no added value apart from its constant availability while it is parked, but it does incur running costs. However, doing without your own vehicle will only be possible if there are appropriate alternatives. This is especially true for residents from the surrounding area. The majority of them will continue to be dependent on private transport in the future. Existing offers, such as Park & Ride, should be expanded. For the surrounding area, it is important to reduce and channel individual traffic and simplify the transition to the mobility concepts of the core regions.

Smart mobility - i.e. intelligent mobility - means making the time that citizens need to move from A to B as effective and efficient as possible. In order to achieve this goal, the networking of all possible and actually available means of transport as well as traffic routes and streets, traffic lights, traffic signs, parking and parking spaces is necessary.

How can the various mobility offers be networked in an intelligent and environmentally friendly way? One solution could be platform-based concepts. For this purpose, digital technologies are used to collect geodata, availability and operating data as well as sales and price data and to provide optimized "door-to-door" services with the help of algorithms. These platforms can generate further added value for users through additional offers. For example, recommendations and reservations for restaurants, hotels or events are integrated into the concept. Offers from the areas of entertainment, education and e-commerce could also be integrated. It's about making each of the movements from A to B effortless, intuitive, meaningful and individual.

Such smart mobility solutions can be implemented faster and better in the city. Here, switching between public and private modes of transport should be easier and more seamless than before. If one looks at the catchment area of a city, it must be taken into account that not all means of transport that are available in the center of a metropolitan region are also available in the surrounding area because they cannot be operated economically there. A large part of the residents of the surrounding area of a smart city will continue to be dependent on individual transport in the future. Existing offers, such as Park & Ride or Ride-Sharing, must be made more attractive.