Reinventing Transport

Here is another example of Combined Mobility and a big step towards realising the idea of ' mobility brokers '. This one is from Germany and it is called "mo " . It is being tested and piloted in Munich and features some beautiful design and fascinating innovations to make car-lite living very convenient. mo is a new mobility system - it helps make the city a better place to live. mo subscribers can rent bikes, cargobikes, ebikes and cars or use public transportation with just one card. With mo it pays to be eco-friendly: choose an eco-friendly transport or use your own bike to collect mo miles. The more mo miles the lower your bill. For instance if you mostly ride bikes, renting a car gets cheaper. These two videos explain much better than I could. Introducing mo from LUNAR Europe on Vimeo . mo - mobility for tomorrow from LUNAR Europe on Vimeo . For more details, check out this October 2011 press release about mo . Hat tip:  Treehugger.

When I wrote my last post "From Carsharing to Mobility Brokers" I didn't realise that the UITP was about to release a position paper on the issue. UITP is the International Association of Public Transport. I was alerted to UITP's work on this by the cover story of New Transit magazine (7 July 2011 issue) from the UK: " Time to forget modes... the future is in the Mobility Mix ". The article is well worth reading. It is subscription only but there is a free preview offer that allows a peek: Today’s customers have a new attitude to their travel choices. Offering “combined-mobility” across the modes can persuade people away from the private car. So what are the ingredients in this new mix, and who should take the lead on serving them up? I am particularly interested in that last question! The UITP report is by its Combined Mobility Platform . The English language version is here as a pdf . Various language versions are available .  UITP is urging its me...

I am excited by the prospect of urban 'mobility retailers' or 'mobility brokers'.  'Huh'? What is that, you ask? A mobility broker is a business that handles the retailing, marketing and information end of your mobility needs. It may not even own any vehicles or employ any drivers (and you won't have to either). You could think of it as an urban transport travel agent. Such services would probably be most attractive for people who choose not have a car of their own. Because urban mobility is much more spontaneous and immediate than long-distance travel, mobility brokers will need to handle requests extremely nimbly in real time. Most cities don't yet have such beasts in their urban transport landscape. Not yet. But I think they will emerge out the innovative and vibrant ecosystem of handheld devices, real-time information apps, social media and networking, car-sharing companies, new payment systems, telematics, location-based services, etc.  I t...