Big discussion at the VISION mobility Think Tank 3 at Hypermotion

At the VISION mobility Think Tanks, each session focused on an exciting overarching topic, which was illuminated and discussed by three speakers from different industries. The third discussion round addressed the themes of Urban Mobility and Smart City, featuring discussions from Prof. Dr. Uwe Clausen, Director at the Fraunhofer Institute and at TU Dortmund, Horst Manner-Romberg, Managing Director of MRU GmbH, and Dr. Harald Hempel, Head of Innovation and Research at Dako GmbH.

Professor Clausen highlighted the influencing factors affecting the last mile and reiterated why the call for decarbonization is becoming increasingly urgent: Around 20 percent of CO2 emissions originate from traffic. Moreover, 40 percent of anthropogenic CO2 emissions emitted since 1750 are still in the Earth's atmosphere. At the same time, digitalization and artificial intelligence have advanced to a point where these problems can be addressed. Partly through apps like the travel app RadAR+, which automatically suggests onward travel options in case of delays.

Horst Manner-Romberg also has no doubt that traffic is on the rise: In the Hamburg area alone, passenger transportation is expected to increase by another ten percent and shipment transportation by another 38 percent by 2020. He sees e-commerce as a key driver, which contrary to expectations does not reduce traffic. The same applies to car-sharing, as many customers see these services as an "add-on", testing and using them; in other words, they order online but still drive to the city for shopping. Or they temporarily rent a car but do not give up their own vehicle. Accordingly, the switch to a sharing society is far from complete. He therefore calls for a "multilayer technology" that integrates all means of transport and enables dynamic route optimization in real-time, a system that could also be applied to small towns.

How this could look in practice was demonstrated by Harald Hempel from Dako, who used the example of software-optimized deliveries to pharmacies in Berlin. The traditional transport routes were historically developed and perhaps also "hysterically" designed in today's traffic chaos. Through skillful optimization, two of seven vehicles were saved, and the route length was reduced by nearly a quarter. While the longest route increased from 241 to 292 kilometers, the second longest route shrank from 127 to 124 kilometers – a distance that could already be easily managed electrically today. For media logistics in the delivery business, he replaced a car with an electric quad, saving around eight minutes per day solely through getting in and out. Not to mention the reduction in energy consumption and traffic area. Hempel also called for a general reevaluation of what needs are genuine needs: Because fast, cheap, and beautiful cannot all be achieved simultaneously.

This sparked a lively discussion: Manner-Romberg explained that electrification alone would not contain traffic volume, while Clausen disagreed with the restrictions Hempel called for, stating that we live almost in the year 2020 and now have intelligent solutions to meet demands and challenges. Hempel agreed but still suggested considering small sacrifices in some areas.

What does this mean?

As long as we only perceive the new possibilities of the digital society as an "additional offer" or option, traffic will not decrease. And if our cities do not become significantly smarter, "urban mobility" could soon be a thing of the past. Nonetheless, the tools are available or are being developed, and now they just need to be used and old habits need to be changed: Because as long as they are seen as an additional option, they do not contribute to changing the fundamental situation.