We recently came across an article that really “drove home” the fact that the future is about much more than driverless cars. While many of us are enchanted by the autonomous movement, one day getting around in Holland might make you see the many other avenues involved in shaping the future of mobility.
electric public Transit in Holland
For anyone who’s ever taken a leisurely stroll around the canals in Amsterdam, it’s no surprise that the Netherlands has the highest rate of bicycle use in the world. But this isn’t all they are doing right in terms of zero emission transportation.
The Netherlands also have a history of pioneering automated driving technology since 1995, and their electric bus manufacturers are thriving from the government’s requirement that all public transport vehicles be zero-emission by 2025.
The Autonomous scale of economy
Autonomous vehicles aren’t the only necessity to make this driverless future a reality, and Holland seems to be at the forefront of the knowledge. The data communication between the autonomous vehicles becomes just as, if not more, important than the cars themselves.
As put in this article:
The Netherlands believes that by introducing cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and focusing on infrastructure rather than just vehicles, they will be able to significantly improve traffic flows in terms of safety, efficiency and environmental impact, as well as boosting their competitiveness in terms of job opportunities and economic growth.
The autonomous future has more benefits that relate to the economies of scale when you look at whole infrastructure solutions, such as with Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) Platooning. In this example, automated/self-driving technology can be applied so that several trucks can follow one another along a road, keeping a steady speed and very short distance from one another, and thereby reducing wind resistance, fuel consumption, and risk factors.
Driverless Technology for the Public
Holland also sees one of the first real-life automated projects through WEpods, which has been operational since 2016 and is the first of its kind to “drive” on public roads amongst day-to-day traffic. Why is this possible in Holland? The small size of the Netherlands and the fact that Dutch infrastructure is amongst the best in Europe makes it the ideal place for testing ambitious mobility tech.
urban mobility and Smart city initiatives
The perfect collection of data that reflects Holland’s future-thinking initiatives, Amsterdam Smart City connects communities to share expertise and kick-start projects that futureproof the country’s capital. Here, you’ll find everything from data that encourages and supports urban energy transitions to sustainable living experts that build “green” living spaces to projects that aim to share renewable energy amongst households.
Companies like Next Urban Mobility want to create hubs which integrate use of cars, bikes, public transport and delivery services in intelligent and data-driven ways. Their ambition is to be a sort of “Netflix for transportation” providing on-demand services as and when users want it. The reasoning behind this is that – just as most of us would now rather stream content rather than having hundreds of DVD and Blu-rays gathering dust on our shelves – the next generation will probably wonder how anybody could ever justify having a car that’s only used every two weeks or so, as is the case with the average Amsterdam car owner.
Be sure to read the complete article here.
Want more information on cities that are pioneering the future of mobility? We compile a list of forward thinking cities every year through the SMCI. Connect with us to get the latest version.
