'Innovative solutions needed to meet urban mobility challenges'

Tokyo introduced low-emission zones as far back as 2003 and now has ultra-low emission zones, restricted to electric and hybrid vehicles. London's congestion tax has reduced congestion by 30 per cent. Shanghai allows free registrations of electric vehicles. Beijing now runs fully electric public buses and Matternet, a Silicon Valley start-up by South Ameican entrepreneur Paola Santana is using drones to do delivery of packages of up to 1 kg in weight over 20 kilometres range.

The common thread linking these developments is that these are all innovations which have come about in response to the growing challenges posed by explosive growth, rising pollution and congestion faced by the world's exploding urban centres and mega-cities.

Going green

Ambitious emission cuts for CO2 and other greenhouse gases and transformative innovation in urban transportation, particularly public transit and door-to-door solutions, besides targeted public policy initiatives – like creating no emission zones in cities – and the leveraging of private investment in infrastructure are key to meeting the urban transportation challenges of tomorrow, a research study has concluded.

The findings were part of a 'green paper' released at the 12th edition of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum – which the tyremaker says is an “innovation think tank” drawing together transportation sector stakeholders, policy makers and academia -- written by the Michelin Challenge Bibendum ecosystem for the event.

It sheds light on the challenges associated with the pursuit of innovative, sustainable and multimodal mobility and it highlights the most up-to-date solutions.

Way forward

With a majority of the world's population expected to be living in cities by 2050, the paper argued that “societal demand” for safe, affordable and eco-friendly transportation needs to be urgently addressed, in view of growing greenhouse gas emissions, rising pollution and associated health challenges, growing congestion in cities and the severe limitations on public budgets to finance infrastructure, which is hampering the need to give access to all through inclusive mobility.

“Pollution, congestion and the worsening consequences of climate change are not inevitable. To the contrary, available solutions for efficient, low-carbon mobility, combined with digital technologies, will serve as springboards to a new mobility economy. Because mobility is key to access education, health care, jobs and is a growth driver. To achieve this goal, public and private sectors must work together,” said Patrick Oliva, Summit chair and Michelin's Group Senior Vice-President, Strategic Foresight and Sustainable Development, said.

Gamechangers

The Green Paper identified five “game changers” essential to meet these challenges. They include setting of ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets by cities and governments, creating ultra-low emissions zones (ULEZs) in congested cities, reinventing last-mile delivery logistics, developing creative door-to-door transport solutions for people and mobilising private investments in sustainable infrastructure.

The paper argued that five “actionable levers” need to be simultaneous deployed to make this happen. Apart from supporting innovative technologies and solutions, the paper stressed that the creation of new economic instruments to help fund the development of these solutions, the introduction of “targeted public policies” that support these solutions and “massive deployment” would be critical to ensuring these outcomes.

(The writer is in China on an invitation from Groupe Michelin.)

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