POCACITO - Transport and mobility

Flash-Charging Electric Public Transport: TOSA Buses

clf — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:11:59 +0000

The TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation) bus planned to be running a full bus route in the city of Geneva takes only 15 seconds to charge during stationing time at a bus stop. In the time that it takes for passengers to get on and off the bus, a laser-guided arm sends 600 kW straight into onboard lightweight batteries with a brand-new flashing technology developed by engineers at ABB, a leading global technology company in power and automation. The charge allows for the propulsion until the next bus / next charging station. Since May 2013, the city is successfully running a pilot and plans to operate the full bus line by 2018.

Marmaray - Connecting Istanbul's Asian and European side by railway

clf — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 09:06:02 +0000

The Marmaray railway public transportation system was opened in 2013 in Istanbul. Transportation has been a major problem for Istanbul for many years, especially transportation between the two sides of the city - Asia and Europe - has been a real challenge. Before Marmaray has been implemented the two sides have been connected only by highways (2 Bosporus bridges) and sea transit ferries. The high-tech construction methods used for the Marmaray project helped creating smart solutions for specific challenges in cities. The project was planned already back in 1860, however only today’s technology made it possible to construct and operate it. In the further steps of the project, Marmaray will be connected to the existing railway system of the city. It enables to pass the Bosporus in 4 minutes and to transport 75,000 passengers per hour (Yenikapi station).

Climate smart Hyllie - green district project

clf — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 08:09:59 +0000

Hyllie is the largest development area in Malmö, and is planned to become the most climate smart district of the entire Öresund region, including 9,000 homes when completed. In this district, solutions will be tested that can act as role models and good examples for the rest of Malmö and for other cities. The energy supply will be 100% renewable or reused (energy from waste or waste water) by 2020, and the district is a major transportation hub with a train station and a “park and ride” garage for bikers. Other features include mandatory sorting of food waste, smart grids for energy consumption, urban gardening and environmentally certified buildings. The district shall help to achieve the energy strategy for Malmö, and be a dense, mixed and green showcase of sustainable city development.

Whitehill & Bordon regeneration project

clf — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 08:01:58 +0000

The regeneration of Whitehill & Bordon is meant to transform the area into a low carbon, green and sustainable city. The town is expected to grow from 6,000 homes to over 9,000 when fully built, and new jobs and a new city centre will be created. Inclusion processes have been used to develop a master plan for the area, including projects for renewable and efficient energy supply, transport solutions, nature conservation and new business and work opportunities.

Movimento Conviva - CicloFaixa Project

clf — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 07:50:07 +0000

Through the campaign Movimento Conviva, the municipality of São Paulo, in partnership with Bradesco Seguros Group, brought the idea of developing temporary leisure cycling ways to the city in 2009, aiming to provide more leisure options for citizens during weekends and to promote respect and integration of this transport mode. Since the creation of the first leisure cycling lanes under the CicloFaixa Project, the route was expanded several times and the acceptance continues to grow, albeit facing initial implementation obstacles. During Sundays and National Holidays, from 7a.m. to 4p.m., certain streets in the city are closed to automobiles and open for cyclists and pedestrians only; summing up to 120.8 km of free cycling ways including the famous Paulista Avenue, which becomes an open space for sports practitioners and tourists. The 120 thousand citizens that use the route can count on the gratuitous technical support of S.O.S. Bike and a Bike Sharing System called CicloSampa.

MOBI.E - E-Mobility Network

clf — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 13:25:19 +0000

Driven by the growing dependence on oil for energy and by the huge environmental impact of the use of fossil fuels, Portugal is investing in new sustainable energy models for mobility that aim to improve quality of life in cities. This has led to the creation of the Electric Mobility Network, an integrated network linking various charging stations in Portugal, which enables electric vehicles to recharge, using a specific charging card.

The main objective of the project is to contribute to a more sustainable mobility model, thus among others also increasing the consumption of electric power produced from renewable energy sources by the electric mobility network. MOBI.E was implemented on a national scale through 25 municipalities that constituted a living lab (called “RENER”) and works as a pilot network supporting the introduction of electric vehicles in Portugal.

On-demand bus service Kutsuplus

clf — Wed, 11 May 2016 13:32:47 +0000

The on-demand bus service Kutsuplus has been designed in response to Helsinki’s aspiration to make car ownership pointless and to transform the city’s existing public transport network into a new form of a “user-centred mobility on demand” system. The service has been implemented by the City of Helsinki together with the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and the company AJELO as an innovative mobility system that would be able to integrate all public transport routes on a single public transport service in real-time. The Kutsuplus service has been operational between 2013 and 2015. It allowed users to manage their demand on the public transport system directly from their smartphones. The Kutsuplus minibus could be called online or with a smartphone app that gathered a whole range of associated bus, tram, metro and taxi routes. Customers were picked up within a user-selected timeframe (5, 10 or 45min) and could travel on and paying the rate chosen (the specific rate was depending on the speed of transportation chosen). Despite its positive feedback, Kutsuplus service was stopped in December 2015 as to unacceptable costs compared to the number of passengers. However, in being an exceptional on-demand mobility service following dynamic routes and schedules, Kutsuplus set an important mark as regards the future development of innovative public transport systems. Currently, Kutsuplus is searching for new market opportunities and business models which would enable the service to restart operations in 2017-2018.

"Agostinhas" - Urban Bicycle

clf — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 14:36:13 +0000

In European urban areas cars are the major source of air pollutants and greenhouses gas emissions. They are also the main cause of noise and occupy a significant share of the public space. With the objective to reduce the number of cars in the city, Torres Vedras launched a new mobility solution – an integrated public bike-sharing system called "Agostinhas". This system includes 30 electric and 260 conventional bicycles made available through 14 bike stations which are connected through a network of bike lanes covering an area of 8 km² (which includes the entire city plus some of the suburban areas). The main objectives of the project are: (1) demonstrating the advantages of using a bicycle and; (2) offering an option for urban transportation with numerous environmental, social and economic benefits.

Superblocks

clf — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 10:18:59 +0000

The Superblocks project, designed by the Municipality of Barcelona in collaboration with the Urban Ecology Agency, represents an innovative planning approach for addressing urban challenges such as mobility, public space, biodiversity and social cohesion. Superblocks are territorial units imagined as bigger than one block of the dense Barcelona´s urban matrix with strict grid pattern, but still smaller than a whole neighbourhood. The aim of creating such superblocks is to recover space for the general public, to preserve biodiversity in the city, to improve sustainable mobility as well as to encourage social cohesion and collaboration. The Superblocks is open projects, so that any proposed action undergoes a participatory process involving local residents and organisations. The duration of the pilot program is four years, starting in 2014. The vision of the city council in implementing the pilot program, as stated in the Public Commitment for Sustainability 2012-2022, is to promote five superblocks and to create a city that works in a more mixed, compact, efficient and diverse way.

Crowdfunded Bike Lane

clf — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:24:24 +0000

Following the general urban mobility trends in the United States of America, the City of Denver began planning its bike infrastructure. However, it often takes a long time for pedestrian and cycling projects to be implemented and sometimes local groups have to take the initiative in pushing the projects forward. The Arapahoe Protected Bike Lane project was led by the Downtown Denver Partnership, a business organisation dedicated to the improvement of Denver’s downtown area. The project’s funding scheme was not standard. After acquiring US $120,000 from private sector donors the Downtown Denver Partnership decided to collect the remaining $35,000 using crowdfunding. This was decided as crowdfunding has proven to be a very successful way not only for financing but to raise citizen's awareness.