Urban mobility breathes new life into rural areas

Urban mobility is, in short, about how everyone in society can travel freely and efficiently from A to B. Today, many businesses are based in city centres, while many people live either on the outskirts or in another part of the city. This creates a large group of commuters, which in turn leads to heavy traffic in and out of cities around the world.

As the population continues to grow, we need smart passenger transport solutions. One such solution is the water bus: a small, electric, self-driving ferry that carries people short distances across fjords. The aim is to connect the city centre with nearby neighbourhoods.

‘There is nothing new about transporting people across fjords, but we will do it using completely new technology. While buses often have to take detours on land, water buses can offer a faster and better transport option. We want more people to choose water buses and bicycles over cars and buses. It should be easy to take your bicycle on board the water bus,’ says Stig Finnesand, project manager for Nordic Edge Smart City Innovation Clusters.

The waterbus project is currently being developed in Stavanger and is led by Stavanger Sentrum AS. Finnesand says interest in the project is growing across Norway, from south to north.

‘We are currently working with several cities to share ideas and experiences, and they all have a strong need for alternatives to cars for short journeys. We also collaborate with SAMS Norway – a cluster focused on developing autonomous mobility and transport solutions on land and water – and NCE Maritime CleanTech, one of the world’s leading clusters for clean maritime technology.’

Water buses offer significant business opportunities – beyond Norway's borders too. Stig Finnesand. Photo: Marie von Krogh.

'From Belgium northwards, there are 3,000 potential ferry routes. This offers unlimited scalability for Norwegian industry. We already have extensive expertise in boatbuilding and can draw on experience from land-based transport to develop our expertise in autonomous vessels,' says Finnesand.

Connecting places more closely creates economic benefits for everyone: local authorities, businesses and – not least – residents.

‘This is a new way to bring different parts of the city to life. Done right, urban mobility can help create satisfied residents by giving them access to a new public transport service. This will make everyday life easier. Studies show that commuting time is just as important as salary,’ says Finnesand.

Norway is leading the way in developing smarter, more efficient land transport systems: more than half of all new cars sold are electric or hybrid. The goal is for all new passenger cars, city buses and light commercial vehicles to be zero-emission by 2025. We are also pioneering smart charging systems and aim to be the first to introduce regulations for zero-emission construction sites and the electrification of aviation in Norway.

‘International organisations look to us because we can develop, test and implement new solutions quickly. If Norwegian companies work with the right partners to scale internationally, we have opportunities to address the challenges facing the world,’ says Tim Genge, Senior Adviser at Innovation Norway.

'To make urban mobility work, we need to use new technology to make travel more efficient, comfortable and sustainable – without greenhouse gas emissions. We need faster, more flexible solutions. If only one train passenger needs to continue their journey by bus, there is no need for a large bus to transport that one person,' says Genge.

According to Genge, freight logistics is also a major business area within urban mobility. The key is to move away from large, centralised supply systems reliant on heavy transport and towards smaller, more distributed systems. He highlights the concept of 'last-mile distribution' as an important consideration for how goods may be transported in the future.

'One example is transferring goods from large lorries to smaller, climate-friendly vehicles for the final leg of the journey, allowing heavy goods vehicles to remain outside cities. Another solution is to use drones to transport goods to their destination through the air,' Genge explains.