Urban mobility for smart cities thanks to smartbikes
A smart city is a city that is able to effectively use information transmission, transportation and communication technologies to offer new urban services, while improving existing ones and reducing their costs. One of the main areas of evolution of smart cities in France is the evolution of urban mobility, which is intended to be increasingly ecological and economical while saving time for users. For a long time, it has been a question of finding an alternative to cars and motorized vehicles, which are still the most common means of transportation in urban areas.
Electric innovations are a viable answer. This is a dynamic that we can observe with the evolution of the use of electric and hybrid cars. However, the real solution lies with EDPM. MPDT is an acronym for "Motorized Personal Transport Device". Electric scooters, hoverboards, gyropods and monoroues are included in this category. Electric bicycles are a separate category, but contribute greatly to the development of urban mobility. In view of this information, we can therefore ask ourselves whether urban mobility and EDPM are a viable alternative to the car?
What is a smart city?
The concept of smart city appeared about ten years ago in France and completes the concept of sustainable city by taking into account new dimensions such as transport and communication, but especially digital. It offers a response to current problems thanks to new technologies.
The smart city seeks first to collect information to become aware of its environment. Today's smart cities are equipped with sensors that allow them to measure certain parameters such as the level of CO2 in the air, the level of pollution, the frequency of use of transport such as bicycles. A smart city will also be able to measure the consumption of electricity, gas and water of its citizens and many others. All of these measures are designed to collect information in order to optimize the management of public services and thus save money while limiting the impact of human life in a city on nature. Resources are thus managed in an optimal way and this management is already making it possible to fight against future crises and shortages such as the water shortage that humanity is beginning to face.
In France, a smart city is organized around 6 main axes: economy, mobility, environment, inhabitants, lifestyle and finally administration. These 6 axes are interconnected, as each can have an action on the other. One of the latest major innovations in smart cities is the switch to electric power for a large number of public and individual transport systems. Urban mobility has become a central issue in the development of smart cities. The goal is to pollute less and spend less while saving space and freeing up cities already saturated by road traffic. Bicycles, which have always been popular, have reinvented themselves and opened up to a wider public by becoming electric, which requires less effort and allows more speed to save time. New modes of transport such as EDPM have appeared and it is not uncommon to observe buses running exclusively on electricity in certain large cities.
The challenges of urban mobility
Improving mobility is part of the ecological trend that has become increasingly present over the last decade. Cities are developing with the help of technology and are seeking to save money while limiting their impact on the environment. Cities are working on the 6 major axes listed above and particularly on mobility within them. The problem of large cities regarding transport and mobility is that the road network is saturated with cars and public transport due to a rural exodus and a high birth rate. This results in traffic jams that can cause massive loss of time and money, as well as emissions of pollutants in the cities. The first solution was to massively increase the use of public transport, which worked at first, but later proved insufficient.
The trend today is towards MPTs and electric bicycles. Personal Motorized Mobility Devices and electric bicycles provide a faster way to get around the city. Using these modes of travel avoids wasting time in traffic jams by bypassing them or taking other roads created for them. These modes of transportation are a good long-term investment, as they are very inexpensive compared to a car. They run on electricity and elbow grease, which drastically reduces their cost and environmental impact.
Themain challenge for cities is to promote these alternative forms of transportation by making them more accessible to the majority of the public. Various investments have already been made in large cities, such as electric bike parks, scooter parks, and the provision of electric or non-electric bikes and scooters for a fee.
The use of smartbikes in cities
Electric bicycles have been emerging massively in cities for several years. Their uses are becoming more democratic and diversified over time to such an extent that they are now part of the décor. There are many types of electric bikes such as VTC or mountain bikes for rural areas. However, smartbikes stand out from the crowd. While being part of the ecological and well being trend of the moment, smartbikes bring an important added value compared to classic electric bikes.
The smartbike or connected electric bike is an electric bike with additional options compared to a classic electric bike. The options of the smartbike allow an increased safety during the outings in town. Indeed, they are equipped with signal lights and turn signals to indicate a change of direction much more safely than with the hands. A smartbike is also connected to the user's phone, which allows him to have access to his position at all times, and some even have integrated locks. The bike provides data to its user such as the number of kilometers traveled and allows the user to find his way around thanks to a GPS beacon.
Smartbikes are taking urban transportation to the next level. More secure and connected in real time, connected electric bikes are the future of urban mobility in smart cities and can almost be considered as vehicles given their functionalities.
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