On 9 and 10 October 2024, the Transport Innovation Forum in Vilnius became a hub for discussing the obstacles and solutions needed to transform mobility and transport in cities through cutting-edge innovation.
“Unfortunately, human nature doesn’t respond well to long-term threats, so we have to find other ways to change human behaviour,” said Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, in a keynote on the role of innovation in shaping the future of urban mobility.
But what are these “other ways”?
“Technology is just one factor in the equation,” explained Tsavachidis. She emphasised that technological innovation, such as shifting from combustion engines to battery electric vehicles, is crucial – and urgent. “Every internal combustion engine car purchased today will still be on the road 10 to 15 years from now,” she warned.
Innovating public transport and shared mobility
Innovating our urban mobility and transport systems was also the topic of two panel discussions organised by EIT Urban Mobility. One of them explored the future of public transport and shared mobility in cities.
Here, the panellists all agreed on the need for data – and on understanding the data – as a common challenge for public transport authorities and governments.
“We need to better understand what quality data we need and how to collect it,” said Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė, the Lithuanian Vice-Minister for Transport and Communications, who pointed towards the untapped potential of data from the telecommunications sector.
However, this data needs to be “high-quality and interoperable” so it can connect EU countries, for instance for cross-border ticketing, said Mikael Nyberg, Director-General at the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Liisa Andersson, Project Manager at Ruter, the public transport authority of Oslo and Akershus, said that “the struggle is that we often end up doing pilots and nothing else.” As a consequence, Ruter always tries to avoid short-term thinking: “If we invest in something, we need to have a plan to actually implement it afterwards,” said Andersson.
One example is Fremmot, a long-term plan to deploy thousands of shared autonomous vehicles in Oslo. And this can only be done together with other cities, said Andersson: “We’re learning to collaborate, also nationally, and this will enable us to scale these new solutions.”
The results of successful pilot projects can help public authorities develop and improve the policies and regulatory frameworks that will be conducive for urban mobility innovation.
Citizen engagement is also essential to better understand mobility patterns and to correct misconceptions about people’s behaviour. Jonas Damidavičius, Head of Mobility Transformations at JUDU, Vilnius’ public transport authority, gave an example: “We asked people: What are your expectations? What do you need to travel in the city? And then put everything in one catalogue.”
Vilnius can now make use of this data when developing new solutions to improve public transport and adapt it to the actual needs of citizens.
Greening the last mile in urban logistics
In a panel discussion on last-mile logistics and urban deliveries, moderated by EIT Urban Mobility’s Wiebke Müller, speakers expressed similar views on the importance of data, policies and collaboration.
To improve efficiency and green their operations, two large logistics operators in the Baltics are exploring new synergies. Latvia Post and Lithuanian Post, the largest postal companies of Latvia and Lithuania, have agreed to use each other’s parcel lockers, explained Dovilė Koncienė, Strategic Coordination and Data Analytics Group Manager at Lithuanian Post. This approach helps reduce the amount of empty storage rooms and use available resources more efficiently.
Raitis Stūrmanis, Project Manager at Latvia Post, said that they are initiating a working group in Riga that involves both the city administration and various logistics partners to identify what data is available and how to share it fairly.
Talking about the collaboration with logistics and delivery operators, Anton Nikitin, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vilnius municipality, explained the city administration’s role lies in “bridging different interests. That is perhaps the worst position, because we make everyone a bit unhappy, a bit happy, so it’s difficult.”
In terms of policy, the city acts as orchestrator and leader. “The city has to be the whip, because companies will not motivate themselves to develop environmental zones, for example,” said Stūrmanis.
Policies also necessitate working together and maintaining dialogue. For example, in Stockholm, the introduction of the Europe’s first no-emission zone on 1 January 2025 will require Wolt and their courier partners to adapt.
Richard Lindeen, Head of Strategy & Innovation for Region North at Wolt, emphasised that “there needs to be a dialogue between the city and the different stakeholders – to not only push, but also incentivise.” For Wolt, greening their delivery operations is a challenge, as Wolt does not own the vehicles. Instead, they work with various partners to support and incentivise their courier partners’ shift and access to electric vehicles.
In each way, the keynote and panel discussions demonstrated how policies, data and collaboration are all part of the innovation pathway towards sustainable urban mobility.
The Transport Innovation Forum 2024 was organised by Transport Innovation Association, a Silver partner of EIT Urban Mobility.
Photos by Marius Ambrazas and Olga Posaškova
