Valais imagines the future of smart mobility
© Cédric Schöpfer/creative commons
Five partners, including the EPFL, have joined forces to set up a virtual laboratory for smart mobility in Valais. The idea behind this “Mobility lab” is to imagine, develop and test innovative solutions for future mobility.
The world is changing rapidly and mobility along with it. There are car- and bike- sharing systems, you can buy bus tickets with your smartphone, trains have become our second offices, towns are seducing their pedestrians and young people are less interested in a driving license… To understand the trends for tomorrow’s mobility and come up with the necessary innovative solutions, the EPFL and four partners from the academic, private and public sectors have united their skills to launch a state-of-the-art “Mobility lab”. A valuable experimental showcase for Valais, the Mobility lab takes off with four multi-disciplinary projects.
The first project honors Valais’ capital city and aims to provide a complete view on current mobility habits for Greater Sion. What transport practices are in place in Sion? What’s the perception and use of the different transportation modes? Is transportation supply and demand matched? How can we increase public transport use and non-motorized modes? The overall goal is to promote the development of credible alternatives to private car use in cities.
Two other projects will use new technologies to make life easier for public transport users and to better manage a bike-sharing system. For example, an innovative electronic ticket-free solution, optimally charging the user based on his specific use of the public transport network, using a simple and secured Wi-Fi connection is under evaluation. Information technology will also be used to optimize the performance and management of Sion’s bike-sharing network.
First results for Spring 2015
The fourth focus area will expand car-pooling possibilities to compliment existing public transport offer, particularly in underserved regions. Two projects are due to start before the end of the year and the first results are expected by Spring 2015.
“Since the Transportation Center’s creation in 2009, the EPFL has continued to strengthen its research competences in the transport and mobility sector. And today, thanks to this new type of collaboration based in a strategic region, we will be in a position to really extend our research capabilities” states André Schneider, Vice-President for Planning and Logistics at the EPFL.
In addition to the EPFL, the partnership, which is signed for an initial duration of five years, includes the Canton of Valais, the town of Sion, HES-SO Valais-Wallis (HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland) and Swiss Post, the Swiss Postal Service. With the construction of EPFL’s “Energypolis” beacon (EPFL Valais Wallis), the Mobility Lab is part of a first-rate research environment to conduct new research in the field of mobility with its partners.