As traditional modes and models of transport continue to decline, existing infrastructure has to adapt and innovate in order to serve more technologically advanced replacements.
This new “physical internet” will provide a holistic and connected end-to-end ecosystem capable of renewing, rebuilding and re-imagining how a city moves and functions.
Growing trends like electric, aerial, and autonomous vehicles require a fundamental overhaul of city facilities and systems. They must now cater to new forms of movement by responding to emerging transportation paradigms, such as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), and on-demand mobility with multi-modal integration and interoperability. This means public and private mobility providers must collaborate more closely with city authorities.
For example, the city of Hamburg in Germany is working with DriveNow and Car2Go to install an electric vehicle (EV) charging network that seamlessly integrates with existing public transport. Highways are also being prepared for the next generation of mobility. Near Paris, the A1 autoroute is being reimagined as a continuous interface between the Charles de Gaulle airport and the Porte de Paris, with intermodal stations connecting the highway with dedicated metro, bus, automated vehicle and car sharing lanes.
To keep up with a growing on-demand economy and changing consumer expectations, new urban logistics models are being built upon the decentralization and redistribution of delivery patterns, using new micro-delivery hubs. The demand for enhanced connectivity and real-time data exchange pushes for new, more flexible cellular infrastructures and equipment. Throughout 2018, carriers raced to install new 5G infrastructure, with T-Mobile installing 5G networks in 30 cities. These will not only be a key enabler for future autonomous transportation, but also for a myriad of other connected services.
While transitioning to a new model, both old and new infrastructure must co-exist. The differing priorities of these models may temporarily lead to competing and more polluting systems. Mitigating the effects of this infrastructure redistribution will be crucial to sustaining a post-fuel and autonomous society. Governments must work together with the private sector to deploy an adaptable and flexible infrastructure, which is needed to support future forms of living and moving.
For example:
- The Berlin Agency for Electromobility is operating an urban logistics innovation hub that is testing EV and autonomous solutions as a way to solve delivery issues in the city.
- Whim is the embodiment of future MaaS – a so-called “Netflix for mobility”. Originally developed for Helsinki but with hopes to spread around the world, it combines all of the city’s mobility options into a single app, accessible via a monthly subscription. (Whim, MaaSGLobal)
- The A1 near Paris is being reimagined as a continuous interface between the Charles de Gaulle airport and the Porte de Paris (Pleyel), with interconnection platforms between this highway and new mass public transportation lines.
- In Saugnac-et-Muret, France, 60m2 of Wattway solar panels have been built into the road surface. In ideal sunny conditions, the tiles generate sufficient energy needed to run the toll gate.
- Built into road infrastructure, Weight In Motion solutions from IFSTTAR enable rapid infrastructure assessment, traffic monitoring pre-selection of overloads, and company profiling.
- The C-Roads Platform is a joint initiative between EU Member States and road operators for testing and implementing C-ITS services to achieve cross-border harmonization and cooperation. The goal is the deployment of interoperable cross-border C-ITS services for road users.
- Grid Smarter Cities is a smart city ecosystem built around the digitization of physical infrastructure. It allows curbside parking to be reserved and makes physical streets digital to enable precise and responsive road management.
About HERE Technologies 
HERE, the Open Location Platform company, enables people, enterprises and cities to harness the power of location. By making sense of the world through the lens of location we empower our customers to achieve better outcomes – from helping a city manage its infrastructure or an enterprise optimize its assets to guiding drivers to their destination safely. To learn more about HERE, including our new generation of cloud-based location platform services, visit http://360.here.com and www.here.com.
