New mobility

Distributed travel information. Today, most major metropolitan areas are developing
intelligent transportation systems that provide real-time information to travelers. These systems
can provide information on driving times to downtown, when the next bus will arrive, which
arterials are least congested, and which central parking lots have space available. Increasingly,
publish them over the internet so that they can be accessed from mobile devices anywhere (e.g.
the San Francisco Bay Area’s ‘511.org’ system). Google Labs is developing a tool that can
pinpoint the locations of taxicabs in a dozen US cities.
Fare integration. Many regions are modernizing their fare payment technologies, while
simultaneously unifying their many agencies and modes under a single fare media ‘brand’. This
strategy includes fare structure simplification, inter-agency fare payment integration, adoption
of time-saving fare collection technologies, and implementation of ‘smart cards’ with multiple
uses (e.g. parking or carsharing payments, or even as a cash alternative). These improvements
cut barriers to transit access, encourage participation in monthly pass programs, and potentially
serve as new revenue sources for transit agencies. London, Paris, Bremen, and other cities have
all undertaken ambitious fare integration and branding strategies.
Carsharing provides access to automobiles as a subscription service, allowing customers to
reserve vehicles by the hour, over the phone or the Internet. Both carsharing businesses and nonprofit
‘car clubs’ are beginning to thrive throughout the US and Europe. They provide the
convenience of inexpensive access, reserved parking in local neighborhoods, and a variety of trendy
and fuel-efficient vehicle models. They also provide significant environmental benefits by helping
maintain or expand the public transportation user base. San Francisco, Philadelphia, and
many European cities actively promote carsharing, by providing subsidized or preferential parking,
or contracting with carshare groups in place of maintaining large municipal fleets. Carsharing is a
fertile area for innovation. In California, researchers are exploring businessmodels for the suburbs,
such as arranging for families, commuters, andemployers to share cars at different times of day on an
ongoing basis. 
InBerlin, experiments are underway with ‘cash cars’: participants lease vehicles
for their personal use fromdealerships, and loan themto carsharing groupswhen they are not needed.
Bikesharing. Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company, offers ‘Call-a-Bike’ programs in
Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Munich. Self-locking bicycles are distributed around the city,
and may be unlocked by calling a phone number and entering a code and credit card information.
Customers are charged by the minute, the day, or the week. Customers can also use their cell
phones to locate the nearest bikes. In Lyon, the bikes are equipped with sensors that
automatically diagnose and report maintenance needs.
Auto-Free Housing. Some cities provide incentives for reduced auto ownership. In the San
Francisco Bay Area, some cities have granted developers density bonuses or exceptions to
minimum parking requirements for new rental housing at transit hubs, on the condition that
tenants pledge not to own cars. Some of these developers, in turn, have offered carsharing as a
marketing tool for these developments. The practice of reducing off-street parking requirements
for developments that provide access to carsharing has also been seen in Bremen and other
German cities .
New service paradigms. In the emerging networked economy, retailers have learned to
compete in new ways by reorganizing around customer needs, adapting continuously, and
cultivating brand loyalty. Transit agencies, too, are beginning to reinvent themselves around
this model . No longer just providers of service, many now seek to act as ‘integrated
mobility’ service providers, ensuring a reliable, convenient, efficient and ‘seamless’ experience
from origin to destination. They are developing partnerships and marketing strategies so that
they can more effectively compete for discretionary travelers.
Paris has been in the forefront of this approach. Its transit agency, the RATP, provides
real-time, door-to-door online journey planning for its rail and bus routes.
eventually deliver information about all modes, as well as information on entertainment, cultural
institutions, and other services. It is evolving into a seamless mobility service, integrating
traditional transit offerings with bike rental, paratransit, carsharing and carpooling services. In its
stations, it provides amenities to minimize the inconvenience of waiting, and will soon provide
cell phone and internet service throughout its network. Its new, integrated smart cards feature
distinct branding strategies and packages of benefits for youth, adults, seniors, and tourists.