Systemic design job

At the start of November, I was lucky enough to visit Barcelona for the World Smart City Expo 2023. Together with my Amsterdam Smart City colleagues and a group of our network partners, I organized -and took part in- keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and visits to international pavilions. As this was my second time visiting the Expo with our network, I was able to keep my focus on the content amidst the overwhelming congress hall and side activities. The following text describes some of my best insights and discoveries.
 
Informal Transport: Challenges and Opportunities
My mobility colleague Chris de Veer took part in a panel discussion on public transport and mobility options in urban environments. Following a plea on the implementation of micro subsidies (increasing equity and efficiency of subsidies), Chris explained the Dutch efforts to get people out of theirs cars and onto bikes and public transport, and making shared mobility solutions accessible for everyone. An important story but something I’ve been working on and getting really familiar with the past year. However, when Maria Nieto, a DU60th PhD Scholar, entered the conversation the discussion took an unexpected turn.

Maria introduced the topic of Popular, or Informal, Transport. For some years, she had been studying this topic of individuals and small scale entrepreneurs organizing ‘unregulated’ transport services. While many would say  that this is ‘just chaos on the streets’ (think of the Rickshaws in New Delhi, or the moped taxi’s in Asian countries), she argued how it’s actually quite an efficient and demand responsive service. With the help of public authorities, this source of livelihood for many could be implemented in urban mobility systems. And if electric vehicle alterations would be relatively cheaper, these entrepreneurs would be happy to help make this large fleet more sustainable overnight. Furthermore, they could help please our obsession for data on travel behaviour. These drivers know exactly where people are traveling to- and from!  

But where to start? Randolf Wilson, head of the Department of Transport at Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (Ghana) and Ajoy Sharma, Principal Secretary at the Government of Punjab (India) shared stories from their own districts and how they’re trying to improve this sector. They explained how the main challenges revolve around unsafe working (& traffic) conditions and unregulated pricing mechanisms. In order to get a grip on these problems they are currently doing their best to map this sector. Unions play a key role in getting as many entrepreneurs registered as possible. Through these unions, governments are able to (micro)subsidize this growing sector, collaborate with the drivers, and ‘tidy up the chaos’.

This panel made me realize how every country and region is dealing with their own mobility challenges, and how extremely organized our own mobility system is.

Pikala Bikes in Marrakech
During the congress, I had the pleasure of meeting Cantal Bakker, founder of Pikala Bikes. With Pikala Bikes, she is introducing the city of Marrakech to cycling culture and the benefits it brings to people, their health and the city as a whole. Unknowingly, I had actually visited her repair café in March, when I travelled though Morocco.

With the help of financial income from bike tours, bike rentals, repairs and the café, Cantal is training and employing Moroccan youth in the cycling and tourism sector. At the same time, the growing presence of bikes in the urban environment inspires citizens to consider biking as a means of transport instead of the popular mopeds.

However, because the local government is still hesitant in giving cyclists more space in their infrastructure plans, she’s now putting extra effort in convincing local authorities of all the benefits a growing cycling culture could bring to the city. As this is one of the Netherlands’ great export products, we look forward to help her in connecting with Dutch ambassadors and high profile names within the Dutch cycling sector and add some persuasive power to the table!
 
Affordable and sustainable housing
During the final day of the Expo, I decided to join a talk on the challenges and opportunities regarding affordable and sustainable housing. While I’m not professionally involved in this sector, I do have great personal interest in this global challenge.

The panel consisted of a combination of architects, researchers and city officials. I was especially impressed by John Roberson, Chief Operating Officer for the City of Chicago. His way of talking and the Chicago projects he described were inspiring. I decided to hang on for a while afterwards to speak to him.

We had a conversation about one of the aspects of our current housing crisis that intrigues me; apart from the need for more physical buildings for housing, there also needs to be more ‘flow’ in our current housing market. There are too much house owners and tenants living in a house that’s not ‘suited’ for their current stage and situation in life. Think of; elderly who are living alone in a spacious multiple bedroom house, and a starting family cramped up in a studio. He explained to me how culture and pride make this a difficult matter; people consider their (family)homes their biggest pride and property in life. Furthermore, the longer people live and settle in a place, the harder it gets to move and build up a life and social network in a different place. To overcome this lack of flow in the housing market (e.g. elderly occupying big family homes), we shouldn’t focus on measures to get people out of their houses, but we should make housing options for elderly as attractive as possible and distributed throughout the country. Moving away from family and the social circle you’ve build up throughout life, is one of the biggest reasons not to move!
 
A big thank you to all people involved in making this International trip happen, and I’m excited to follow up with all the new people and organizations I’ve met! See you next year Barcelona!

Deelscooteraanbieder Check introduceert vandaag een veiligheidsslot in haar app: de Safety Lock. De Safety Lock is ontworpen in afstemming met jongerenorganisatie TeamAlert. Met het slot kunnen gebruikers de eigen Check app tijdelijk blokkeren voor het reserveren van voertuigen. Op deze manier beschermt de gebruiker zichzelf tegen het (laagdrempelig) gebruik maken van scooters op een later tijdstip. Naast de Safety Lock introduceert Check ook een gerichte communicatiecampagne om gebruikers op relevante momenten te wijzen op de gevolgen van rijden onder invloed.

TeamAlert: ‘Actie nodig om dronken jongeren van deelscooter te houden’
In februari 2023 publiceerde TeamAlert, een organisatie die zich inzet voor de verkeersveiligheid van jongeren, een enquête waaruit blijkt dat ruim een kwart van de jonge deelscootergebruikers met een leeftijd tot en met 24 jaar wel eens onder invloed op een deelscooter stapt en de risico’s daarvan onderschat. De enquête was onder bijna duizend jongeren afgenomen. Naar aanleiding van het onderzoek riep TeamAlert gemeenten en deelscooteraanbieders op om in actie te komen en na te denken over oplossingen. 

Deelscooteraanbieder Check introduceert de Safety Lock
Het onderzoek van TeamAlert, in combinatie met een landelijke toename van het gebruik van alcohol en drugs in het verkeer in 2022 (37,4% meer uitgedeelde boetes), is aanleiding geweest voor deelscooteraanbieder Check om in actie te komen. Op basis van meerdere gesprekken en feedbacksessies met deelscootergebruikers en verschillende autoriteiten op het gebied van verkeersveiligheid, waaronder TeamAlert, introduceert Check vandaag de Safety Lock. Met het slot kan elke gebruiker de eigen Check app tijdelijk blokkeren voor het reserveren van voertuigen. Op deze manier beschermt de gebruiker zichzelf tegen het (laagdrempelig) gebruik maken van scooters op een later tijdstip. Mochten gebruikers het slot toch willen deactiveren, omdat ze bijvoorbeeld niet onder invloed zijn, dan moeten ze eerst verplicht één minuut lang een tutorial over de gevolgen van rijden onder invloed bekijken. Gebruikers die het slot activeren worden gestimuleerd om hun Safety Lock te delen met vrienden om uit te dragen dat onder invloed zijn en rijden, niet samen gaat.

De Safety Lock helpt de gebruiker bij het maken van de juiste keuze 
Saar Hadders, gedragsonderzoeker bij TeamAlert, legt uit hoe de Safety Lock gebruikers in staat stelt om de juiste keuzes te maken: “Onder sommige gebruikers geldt een sociale norm dat het rijden onder invloed op een deelscooter normaal is. Door het bedenken van een nieuwe feature om rijden onder invloed op deelscooters tegen te gaan, zendt Check een krachtige boodschap uit dat dit gedrag niet oké is. In de omgeving van jongeren zijn vrienden erg belangrijk in het creëren van een veilige sociale norm. Doordat de Safety Lock gebruikers stimuleert om de feature met hun vrienden te delen, wordt deze sociale norm versterkt.” 

Hadders: “Jongeren hebben niet altijd de intentie om na een avondje stappen onder invloed te gaan rijden, maar door een combinatie van impulsiviteit en het effect van alcohol kan deze intentie vervagen. De Safety Lock biedt jongeren de mogelijkheid om zichzelf vóórdat ze hun eerste drankje drinken, te behoeden voor een onveilige rit naar huis. Wanneer gebruikers in de loop van de avond tóch van gedachten veranderen, deelt Check kennis over waarom het goed is om nuchter te rijden. Deze kennis kan helpen om alsnog het veilige gedrag te vertonen en ander vervoer te kiezen.”  

De Safety Lock wordt versterkt door gerichte en relevante communicatie
Check heeft de communicatie om rijden onder invloed tegen te gaan opgedeeld in drie tijdvakken. De tijdvakken zijn gebaseerd op onderzoek van het SWOV. Afhankelijk van het tijdvak worden gebruikers aangemoedigd tot verantwoordelijk gedrag in het verkeer, bijvoorbeeld door gebruikers voorafgaand aan een avondje uit te attenderen op de mogelijkheid om het Safety Lock te activeren. Gebruikers die vrijdag- of zaterdagnacht tussen 23.00 uur en 06.00 uur een deelscooter willen pakken moeten eerst verplicht een tutorial kijken over de gevolgen van rijden onder invloed.

If autonomous cars can transport us affordably, do we no longer want to own our own car? Are we switching en masse from public transport, do we leave our bikes unused, or do we walk less? Do we drive alone, or do we share the car with other passengers? Will autonomous cars share he road with other traffic, including cycling? Are we going to use a car more often and longer and how many cars drive empty waiting for a customer?
Of course, no scientific study can answer all these questions yet. Nevertheless, research offers some insight.  

Ride-hailing

 
First, what do we know about the influence of ride-hailing? That is calling a taxi from Uber or Lyft and a handful of other companies with an app. Juniper Research expects that the use of this service, which already has a global turnover of $ 147 billion, will increase fivefold in the coming five years, regardless of whether the taxis involved are 'self -driving' or not. Clear is that most users seem not to appreciate the presence of fellow passengers: the number of travelers that share journeys is only 13%.
Research in seven major American cities shows that 49 to 61 percent of all Uber and Lyft-taxi rides would have been made by walking, cycling, taking public transport or not at all. These journeys only replace car use to a limited extent. As a result, the number of train passengers has already fallen by 1.3% per year and that by bus by 1.7%. At the same time, congestion has increased.
A publication in the Journal Transport policy showed that travelers travel twice as many kilometers in every American region that they would have done if Uber and Lyft did not exist. It also turned out that taxis drive empty 50% of the time while they are waiting for or on their way to a new customer. Another study found that many Uber and Lyft customers who once used public transport buy a car for themselves.  

The effect of 'self -driving' cars

 
The number of studies after the (possible) effect of the arrival of 'self -driving' cars is increasing rapidly. Research by the Boston Consultancy Group showed that 30% of all journeys will take place in a 'self -driving' car as soon as they are available. A considerable number of former public transport users says they will change. Despite the price advantage, the respondents will make little use of the option to share a car with other passengers, but it is known that attitudes and related behavior often differ. Nevertheless, this data has been used to calculate that there will be more cars on the road in large parts of the cities, resulting in more traffic jams.
Semi-experimental research also showed that the ability to travel with a 'self-driving' car results in an increase in the number of kilometers covered by around 60%. Unless autonomous cars drive electrically, this will also have significant negative consequences for the environment.
The Robottaxis in suburbs had a different effect: here travelers would leave their car at home more often and use the taxi to be transported to a station.  

See robot taxis and public transport in combination

 
Despite all the reservations that must be made with this type of research, all results indicate a significant increase in the use of taxis, which will be at the expense of public transport and will result in more traffic jams in urbanized areas. This growth can be reversed by making shared transport more attractive. Especially on the routes to and from train, metro, and bus stations. Only in that case, will there be an ideal transport model for the future: large-scale and fast public transport on the main roads and small-scale public transport for the last kilometers and in rural areas.

In a couple of days my new ebook will be available. It is a collection of the 25 recommendations for better streets, neighbourhoods and city's that have been published at this spot during the last months