What Is Soft Mobility?

"A generic term which embraces the design, implementation, operation and management of environment-friendly transport modes. As a rule, the environmental impact of a means of transport (especially its greenhouse gas emissions) is the first criterion for determining whether it is "soft" or not. However, many other aspects may be included in the definition, such as safety, noise levels and the impact on the urban landscape. Walking, cycling, tramways and electric vehicles are frequently cited as examples of soft mobility. Also referred to as ecomobility and sustainable mobility. "[1]

—— GREEN OFFICE®

A. Exploratory Research

Project I: Zadar Bike Magic
  1. Project Carriers

    2. Zadar Bike Magic is the project carried by a regional tourist organization, the Zadar County Tourist Board in 2015.

  2. Beneficiaries
    • Cyclisits

      • As the users of the websites, the cyclists can choosse well-planned cycling routes to have various experiments and enjoy the views alongside and enjoy the time with their family, with their friends, or just themselves.

    • Travel Agencies

      • The travel agencies are the special benefaciries of this project, because the agencies can have tfinished products that adapt to different customer segments.

    • Accomodation, Bike Shops and Renting Points

      • Besides the cycling routes, the website and the mobile app also offer services related to bike shops, renting points and accomodation recommendations. Therefore, these businesses benefit from the project and can get more guests.

    • Destinations

      • While designing the routes, various destinations are included in the routes. These destinations are promoted and become popular during the usage of the mobile app and websites.

    • Transportation System

      • This project encourages users to ride bicycles instead of driving in the trips. As more and more tourists are interested in cycling tourism and choose bicycle tours, it can ease the burden of the transportation system in that region.

    • Regional Tourism Industry & Economy

      • Tourists, destinations and tourism-related businesses can all benefit from the project, therefore, the regioal tourism industry can have a more promising future and prosper.

    • Environment

      • Bicycles, as a sustainable and non-motorized mean of transport can help decrease the emission of carbon dioxide, reduce the air and noise pollutions and improve the environment.

  3. Users

    4. The users of the mobile app and the webistes are classified into three categories. First category are the families. Second category are the fit cyclists who want to spend time with their friends. And third category are the fit cyclists who want to challenge them selves. Either amateur or professional cyclists, and either tourists and residents can be the users.

  4. Need

    5. This project meets the need of promoting the sustainable urban mobility with ecological-friendly means of transport, in this case the bicycles, in Mediterranean from the tourism perspective. It promotes a healthy lifestyle as well.

  5. Principle

    6. This project offers incentives for bicycles usage to the users. The solution of this project includes the Zadar Bike Magic website and mobile APP, which provide over 80 circular bicycle routes all over the Zadar County and the functional urban Area Zadar, targeting at three categories of cyclists ( families, fit cyclists with friend, and fit cyclists who want to challenge themselves ) and classifying bikes into three categories ( MTB, road bicycles, and trekking / family bikes ). Meanwhile the website and the APP offer GPS tracking of the users, and other related services such as bike shops, rent points, agencies, and accommodation recommend-dations to maintain the usage of sustainable means of transport.

  6. Main Techonologies Involved
    • Downloadable GPS and Map
    • Databases

    A downloadable GPS system and map for offline navigation is one of the most important technologies involved in the project, because the cyclists need to check the routes during the trip, where they may not have internet.
    In addition, the project offers the users various routes, there fore a database for these routes may be involved in the proeject. Meanwhile, to enable the users to filter and select the routes from the route database, APIs can be invovled in the project.

  7. Sources
Project II: smart bus shelter in Monaco
  1. Project Carriers

    2. This project is a part of the transport infrastructure plan of Monaco, so the government is the project carriers of the smart bus shelters.

  2. Beneficiaries
    • Passengers

      • Passengers including residents, commuters and tourists are the main user as well as the main beneficiaries of the smart bus shelters. They can get information and services when they are waitinig buses in the smart bus shelters.

    • Companies and Organizations

      • Companies and Organizations can benefit from the bus shelters, becasuse the new bus shelters allow them to share information and do promotion via the screen in the smart bus shelters. They can have more ways of brand explosure than before and get more awareness among the public.

    • Government Departments

      • The bus shelters have sensors to gather data about the air, noise, transportation systems, therefore government departments can benefit from these data to do analysis and help optimize the resource allocation.

    • Transportation System

      • The new bus shelters aim at promoting the usage of the buses instead of private cars,and better allocating the bus routes and schedule, therefore, the transportation system can be optimized by reducing the number of private vehicles and providing better bus schedule and routes.

  3. Users

    4. The main users of the bus shelters are passengers. They waiting for buses at the bus shelters. They can get bus information and using services such as Wi-Fi, charging port, interactive touchscreen, etc.
    Companies and organizations can also use the screens of the bus shelters to share their information and increase their wareness.
    The government also use the sensors and data from the bus shelters to analyze and have better urban planning.

  4. Need

    5. This project meets the need of the government to manage the resources more efficiently, and to have better connection to the public. Meanwhile it meet the need of improving the environment and transportation system by promoting people to use bus more frequently.

  5. Principle

    6. The shelters promote people to use buses by improving the transport experience in the Principality. The bus shelters provide the infrastructures such as Wi-Fi, charger, bus information, interactive touchscreens, etc. The bus shelters, which have been installed in 33 important locations within the Principality, will make it possible to offer new digital experiences.
    Furthermore, the shelters have sensors to collect data about the city. These shelters improve data collection, processing, and cross-referencing in order to enhance urban monitoring and ultimately offer the ability to make prediction on problems such as air, noise, traffic, and energy consumption by buildings.

  6. Main Technologies Involved
    • GPS system
    • Databases
    • APIs
    • Interactive Touchscreen

    In project, interactive touchscreen is a highlight of the bus shelter. Using interactive touchscreen can help the government have better connection with people.
    In order to offer bus information, such as the waiting time of the next bus, the shelters need to have GPS system to track the position of the buses.
    Databases play an important role in the project, to stock information of the buses and the overall environment. And to display it on the screens, APIs are very important.

  7. Sources
Project III: BeeToGreen.com
  1. Project Carriers

    2. This website is a platform for selling and renting bikes or e-scooters provided by the company BeeToGreen.

  2. Beneficiaries
    • Employees

      • Employees can find appropriate bikes and e-scooters in an affordable price. The discount is the most obvious benefit they can get. Furthermore, riding to work can save time and help employees to build a healthy body.

    • Employers

      • Employers can enjoy the services of the platform to control carbon footprint reduction. Plus, providing their employees with a healthy, safe, faster and comfortable way to work can increase the quality of life at work and enhance the employer brand perception.

    • Bike and Escooter Brands

      • The platform has cooperated with more than 50 bicycles and e-scooter brands. Employees purchase and lease bieks and e-scooters of these brands via the website. Thus, these brands can have more sales and income.

    • Transportation system

      • The website provides bike purchase and leasing, and promote riding to work. As more employees ride to work, the transportation system can be eased by less vehicle on roads.

    • Environment

      • No doubt, a bicycle or an e-scooter is a sustainable mean of transport, which is environmental friendly. Riding to work can have less damage to the environment and alleviate the pollutions.

  3. Users

    4. Employees that want to have a bicycle or a e-scooter can get a discount and therefore, buy or rent a bicycle or e-scooter via this platform with a affordable price. If the employees already own a bicycle or a e-scooter, the platform can provide service such as insurance, and repair.
    The prerequisite for the discount is that the employer has purchased the service of BeeToGreen. BeeToGreen provide users with sustainable mobility solutions to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the well being of the employees. So employers also belong to the users of BeeToGreen.

  4. Need

    5. For employers, the platform meets the need to control carbon footprint and improve human resource welfare by change the mobility solutions of employees.
    For employees, the platform meets the need of controlling the cost for bicycles and e-scooters, and finding the appropriate bicycles or e-scooters.
    As for the society, the platform meets the need of promoting the usage of bicycles and scooters, and ultimately the need of developing the soft mobility and saving the environment.

  5. Principle

    6. The platform provide the employers with simple administrative management, and help monitoring the carbon footprint reduction. By doing so, the platform help the employers to create better working condition for their employees and gain better employer brand perception.
    Their employees can have their dream bikes, by answering a questionnaire, and setting conditions for bikes, such as price, brands, etc. They can lease or purchase a bike or a e-scooter among more than 50 bike and e-scooter brands all over France. In addition, they can have insurance, maintenance, parking and accessories for their existing bikes and e-scooters.
    By offering affordable bicycles and e-scooters, the usage of soft mobility can increase, and reduce the carbon footprint, and have positive impacts on the environment.

  6. Main Technologies Involved
    • Databases
    • APIs
    • Data Analysis

    As a platform for selling and leasing bikes or e-scooters, databases about the buyers and sellers are important to the project.
    In addition, to offer the services related to the bike and e-scooter brands, APIs linking to the websites of these brands and the payment methods are also a critical technology.
    As the platform also provides the personalized recommendations, the data analysis technology is also crucial.

  7. Sources
Project IV: UNIWHEELS application
  1. Project Carriers

    2. The application is a unique multi-vehicle sharing platform offered by the company UNIMOBILITY, which creates solutions for integrated soft mobility. The company is a network of experts who analyse, implement and operate the sustainable and shared mobility solution.

  2. Beneficiaries
    • Riders

      • UNIWHEELS provides services to riders, therefore, riders are the main beneficiaries of the application. They can find a eco-friendly mean of transport near their locations.

    • Transportation System
      • By promoting the sharing system and soft mobility, the transportation system can be eased. Therefore, the transportation system is also the beneficiary of the project.
    • Environment
      • Last beneficiaries but not the least one is definitely the environment. Soft mobility and sharing economy can protect the environment and avoid unnecessary pollutions.
  3. Users

    4. Users are the riders who has an urgent need of a bicycle , E-kick scooter, Ebike or Moped. They can be either residents or tourists , either commuters or other citizens.

  4. Need

    5. This project meets a temporary but urgent need of the sustainable means of transport, as well as the need of promoting sharing economy and soft mobility.

  5. Principle

    6. By providing a vehicle sharing platform available 24/7. Users can easily find a bike, E-kick scooter, Ebike or Moped wherever they are. They can reserve a vehicle via the app, locate the vehicles on the map, and lock and unlock the vehicles easily via the app. By providing such a convenient service, it can increase the usage of sharing economy and the sustainable means of transport. The operation rate of the vehicles are increased, and the usage of motorized vehicles are decreased. Therefore, the soft mobility are promoted.

  6. Main Technologies Involved
    • LoRa or Sigfox technologies.
    • GPS & Map
    • Electronic Blocking System
    • APIs

    According to the official website of the UNIMOBILITY, each vehicle is located using LoRa or Sigfox technologies. With the GPS and map, the application is able to locate the user and display the vehicles nearby. Besides that, Electronic Blocking System is involved in the service for users to control the bicycles with a smartphone app. Furthermore, there are APIs linking to payment system and bikes involved, so that the users can use the payment function and reservatioin function.

  7. Sources

B. Deepening

Zadar Bike Magic
  1. Carriers and Actors of The Project

    2. Zadar Bike Magic is the project carried by a regional tourist organization, the Zadar County Tourist Board in 2015. Later the app is upgraded through the MOBILITAS project supported by the European Commission within the framework of the Interreg-MED program, which aims at promoting low carbon mobility models in Mediterranean tourist areas.

  2. Research Question

    3. “ How can the government formulate the urban planning to encourage tourists to use more bicycles when they visiting Zadar? ”

  3. Why I choose this project?

    4. This project solved a quite specific issue. It aims at developing usage of bicycles in a cetain industry (tourism) and certain geographical area (Zadar), therefore it is a project worth studying. Moreover, this project has clear customer segmentation and service flow, which is easier to analyze.

II. User Scenario
  1. Users
    • Cyclists with their family
    • Cyclists with their friends
    • Cyclists who want to challenge themselves
  2. Persona
    3. persona
  3. Key Features
    1. Recommend riding routes of different types.
    2. Allow downloading GPS information and maps.
    3. Recommend agencies, bike shops, rent points and accomodation.
  4. UX Storyboard
    5. ux storyboard
III. Technical Analysis
  1. General Principle

    2. This project allows the users to find a riding route with great views of destinations.

  2. Technical Overview - API version

    3. APIs are used to connec the website and the application of Zadar Bike Magic with the database of the routes, the database of the maps, and the GPS. These APIs are also used in navigation apps, such as google map, etc. These APIs allow Zadar Bike Magic to provide different routes, maps and the navigation function while riding.
    These APIs gather requirement on routes of the users and find the appropriate routes for the users. The users can filter different routes based on the the route types, location, physical difficulty, and route length. Once they click the button "Find", the APIs should gather requirements of the users and filter correspondent data from the databases and send them back to the users. These APIs are not visible to the users, users can only view the filtered routes and make decisions.
    Once they decide one route to follow, they will press the "download" button, then API will link to the database of the maps and also link to the GPS to provide futher services.

  3. Added Value Thanks to APIs

    4. The APIs provide appropriate riding route and reliable navigation services to assure a enjoyable experience of riding. With such wonderful experience, the users will prefer have a cycling tour than a driving tour. As more users ride in their trips, the soft mobility can be greatly promoted in the region.