Cleanergy 4 Micromobility and RideSafeUM are supported by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) a body of the European Union. These two research projects were launched in early 2022, and through pilot applications aim to enhance micro-mobility in Thessaloniki by addressing road safety and unregulated parking issues.
Cleanergy is focused on developing an innovative parking and charging docking system for e-scooters, which uses solar energy and provides ample space for storing personal protective equipment (e.g., helmets). The docking system is a joint product of Bile Communication SL, Solum and Omnitec Systems. The docking system will be piloted for a 5-months period in different urban environments (Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Istanbul), enabling to better understand the dynamics of the innovative docking system under diverse configurations. In the framework of Thessalonik’'s pilot, two Cleanergy docks will be established in the city in appropriately selected areas for avoiding sidewalks blockage and minimizing the negative impact to the pedestrians. The first dock will be installed in the City Hall square, while the second one will be installed close to a public transport hub, in order to promote intermodality and co-operation between e-scooters and public transport. Project partners from Greece: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/ Hellenic Institute of Transport (CERTH/HIT), Major Development Agency Thessaloniki (MDAT) and Rise Scooters.
RideSafeUM seeks to enhance the level of road safety for both users of e-scooters and vulnerable road users who interact with them on the road. Within the project a technological solution will be developed, which will be tested in Thessaloniki, Rome and Barcelona. The technological solution consists of two components, a mobile app and a city dashboard. Through the dashboard, authorities will be able to regulate the use of e-scooters (e.g., establish speed limits per type of infrastructure or inaccessible areas), but also to monitor violations and accidents and identify locations of high risk. The identification of accidents will be based on data coming from e-scooters and mobile phones sensors. On the other hand, the mobile app will provide notifications to the users for careful riding, when such a recommendation is deemed appropriate, and will provide them with real-time information if they violate a local rule (such as speeding). Project partners from Greece: Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/ Hellenic Institute of Transport (CERTH/HIT), Major Development Agency Thessaloniki (MDAT), Rise Scooters and Brainbox.
About EIT Urban Mobility
EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, aims to accelerate solutions and the transition towards a user-centric, integrated and truly multimodal transport system. As the leading European innovation community for urban mobility, EIT Urban Mobility works to avoid fragmentation by facilitating collaboration between cities, industry, academia, research and innovation to solve the most pressing mobility challenges of cities. Using cities as living labs, its industry, research and university partners will demonstrate how new technologies can work to solve real problems in real cities by transporting people, goods and waste in smarter ways. The Hellenic Institute of Transport is an active member of EIT Urban Mobility, and it has also taken the initiative to develop the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) Hub in Greece, which aims to connect EIT Urban Mobility with the local urban mobility ecosystem and to integrate the extended Knowledge Triangle (industry, academia, research and cities) in Greece.
About Partners
The Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT) is an internationally recognized research organization in the field of transport, with a strong background in coordinating and participating in research projects. HIT aims to be at the forefront of European transport research and innovation.
Major Development Agency Thessaloniki (MDAT) is a development agency of the local government organizations covering the greater metropolitan urban district of Thessaloniki and other institutions of the wider public sector and city organizations. The main objectives of MDAT include the promotion of sustainable development in the fields of environment, economy, society, and transport, as well as the management, supervision, and financing of European and international projects.
Rise Scooters provides e-scooter sharing and leasing services to Thessaloniki's residents and visitors. It has a fleet of 350 e-scooters and in just 4 months of operation it achieved over 10,000 active users. This Greek start-up company is always interested in testing new mobility and operational models.
Brainbox specializes in the installation, development, and operation of shared mobility systems, and offers advanced solutions in telematics and information technology. Founded in 2008, it is the largest company in Southeast Europe in the field of micromobility, as it has an international presence and export-oriented character.
Thessaloniki Smart Mobility Living Lab (ThessM@LL)
Thessaloniki Smart Mobility Living Lab (ThessM@LL) is an efficient member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). The entire city of Thessaloniki is a platform for testing technological and innovative solutions for mobility, such as cooperative and autonomous vehicles, and it will soon be extended to freight transport. Thessaloniki is now in the list of smart cities in the field of mobility, and this would not have been possible without the involvement of the local ecosystem, which has been created over the last decade and is constantly growing. In this ecosystem, various operators and businesses are involved by providing data or expertise to form the appropriate conditions for the utilization of the living lab for the benefit of citizens.
Since 2009, HIT maintains a tight cooperation with the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which is one of the most important actors in the ecosystem of ThessM@LL, by contributing to the development of innovative mobility services and providing essential mobility data. The Municipality of Thessaloniki collaborates with HIT in several European research projects, with MOMENTUM (H2020, 2019-2022) being the most recent. In the framework of the MOMENTUM project, HIT developed a decision-making tool, enabling the Municipality of Thessaloniki to gain useful insights into how to plan Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) systems and how to regulate the operation of micromobility services.
