| Our man fromAmsterdam
by Richard Butter
Even cycle-friendly nations
have much to learn about
better mobility services
“Almost three-quarters of
individuals are willing to
reward retailers who do
the last-mile delivery well”
What interested me at Velo-City was to
do research on how the cyclist or the
upcoming cargo bike moves within the
traffic system, while interacting with other
modalities such as (autonomous) cars and
public transport. All parties agree that safe
and sustainable are currently the major
trends. Cooperation between the modalities
and making optimum use of the
technological possibilities will make
seamless mobility possible.
One other part of Velo-City that I really
enjoyed was the extensive creative art
program that Dublin uses to promote
cycling as a mode of transport. A series
of cycling related artwork is being displayed
on traffic boxes around the city. Creativity
will help us find the best solutions to
improve our urban mobility challenges.
I look forward to make the best use of every
modality combining strengths within the
Intertraffic community. Let us be inspired.
Richard Butter is director of traffic technology
at RAI Amsterdam and is responsible for Intertraffic
worldwide events, www.intertraffic.com
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com 069
When it comes to cycling,
the Netherlands would be
the first country to think
of. Don’t we just love to cycle? I myself even
enjoy a cycling holiday. 27% of the trips
made in the Netherlands are by bicycle. We
pedal 15.5 billion km per year and we have
1.3 bicycles per person. It is therefore not
surprising that our infrastructure is cycle
friendly with 37,000km (23,000 miles) of
cycle paths. Nonetheless the chances
getting into an accident with, or as, a cyclist
are quite high. In 2015 it was reported that
185 people died due to a bicycle accident.
Even though we know the benefits of
cycling, we still need to improve our safety.
But where do we start? Since July you are
no longer allowed to use WhatsApp while
cycling in the Netherlands. Other questions
that arise: Should we wear a helmet? Or
should cities become (even) more cycling
friendly? And what about the delivery of
goods on a bike? Even though the
Netherlands might be the first cyclist
country you would think of, I strongly
believe we can still learn from other regions.
Especially and maybe even more so from
those places where there are no cycle paths
at all. I like to broaden my perspective and
visit international congresses like Vélo-City
in Dublin, the world’s largest conference in
the area of cycling, cycling infrastructure
and bicycle safety. This year’s theme was
cycling for the ages. How do we encourage
cycling from young to old, male and female,
all demographics and what will cycling look
like in the (near) future?
The playing field for Intertraffic is no
longer just about getting from A to B, but
also logistics. I sometimes wonder how
companies like Amazon have affected the
way we move around our cities. Research
shows that more and more people receive
deliveries from grocery retailers at least
once a week. The last-mile delivery seems
to influence a large part of their experience.
Almost three-fourths of individuals are
willing to reward retailers who get the lastmile
delivery right with increased spend
and loyalty. However, the last-mile delivery
is the most expensive part of the supply
chain. So how are retailers going to improve
their last-mile experience without losing
too much profit while using safe and
sustainable modalities?
September/October 2019 Traffic Technology International
Ramboll – Booth 97
Left and below left: The effects
of MaaS in Helsinki
Inset: Ian Sacs, Ramboll Smart
Mobility Market Manager
grows swiftly along public
transport corridors. MaaS users
also evidently excel in multimodality,
and the MaaS platform
is potentially facilitating first/
last mile choices, leading to
greater access to and use of
public transport.
One step beyond
To take things one-step further,
Ramboll also extrapolated
available data to see how the
introduction of new mobility
options – such as e-bicycles –
would impact trip behavior.
The company found that the
introduction of such options
could potentially reduce daily
car trips by up to 38%. This
finding is an encouragement to
public and private organizations
looking to introduce a range of
new niche mobility services.
Municipal officials, city
planners, public transport
agencies, transport professionals,
transport service providers and
many others can benefit from
these findings. Taken with noted
limitations, there is much to
glean from this first glimpse
at the nature of MaaS and a
substantial group of MaaS users
in the real world, with much to
share and discuss together. The
full Whimpact report is available
at bit.ly/2KxOQB3.
Visit Ramboll Smart Mobility
at ITS World Congress 2019
in Singapore from October
21-25, in the Nordic Pavilion at
Stand 97.
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