BERLIN
Business Case Smart Park and Charge at the Lindenstrasse site in the downtown area is still awaiting its pilot launch in the coming days as the Berlin team addresses the final technical issues related to the app-controllable parking barriers. Their installation was already completed in the fall and currently Berlin team is continuing to approach potential commercial users of the charging infrastructure at this location to inform them about the project and invite them to participate in the trial of this new service. Berlin team is also currently planning a press event to launch the pilot to increase public interest in this project. Also, after six months of piloting the E-Carsharing as a housing service there are two new developments.
First, the Relocation of a vehicle from Mariendorf to Falkenberg. The booking data reveals that there is a more “active group“ within the persons registered in Falkenberg using the electric cars for long-distance trips and more often. In order to make sure that all booking requests can be met as well as to improve economic feasibility of this mobility service, Gewobag partner relocated one vehicle from Mariendorf to Falkenberg. The total number of users has risen to 125 households so far, which seems a decent number for the first E-Carsharing concept deployed in residential areas with social housing.
Secondly, the mobility hub in Waterkant was completed in December 2020. Waterkant was chosen initially as a pilot area to develop and test E-Carsharing as a housing service, however, due to delays in the construction work has not been ready by then.
The hub is also equipped with two E-Carsharing vehicles operated according to the business model designed in the MEISTER project. Embedded in the mobility hub in Waterkant, E-Carsharing is a key contribution to a multimodal and sustainable mobility offer in a newly built residential area offering 2,500 housing units by 2024. The E-Carsharing as a housing service “SpreeAuto” hence is now being tested in three different locations (Falkenberg, Mariendorf, Waterkant) with two shared E-vehicles each.
MÁLAGA
In Málaga, the MEISTER solutions E-Car Sharing in Municipal Fleet, City E-Logistics for Ultra-Low Emission Hubs and Smart Park + Charge are being tested in coordination with ETRA. In this regard, ETRA will get ready a training session for the Malaga partners.
Malaga City Council parking spots and the municipal electric vehicles have been labelled with MEISTER logos. Besides, partner of Malaga partners has developed an user manual and they will prepare a E-Car Sharing in Municipal Fleet training session for municipal employees.
Regarding the City E-Logistics for Ultra-Low Emission Hubs, partners have installed the traffic signs in the loading and unloading areas (on the street) of electric vehicles (just before the pilot launch). Also, there will be a training session for the users of the solution: SMASSA´s customer logistics operators.
The Smart Park + Charge application is under review process of the informed consent letter that will be sent to users to comply with the Data Protection Law. The contracting procedure for the acquisition of the first automatic barrier (the Provider is Green Mobility Solution) is closed. Soon, technical activities for the integration of the current charging point systems will be completed and the test process in the center of Malaga city (Alcazaba parking lot) will start.
STOCKHOLM
The City of Stockholm is electrifying transport for home care services. In the MEISTER project, several City District Departments responsible for the delivery of elderly care have replaced conventional cars with 11 electric ones. Two of these are used by staff working three shifts daily, with charging time at a maximum of two hours per day. The pilot focuses on gathering user experiences from driving and charging as well as the overall benefits and challenges for fleet managers. First results are expected in late spring.
RISE partner has conducted an interview study with operators and city officials in Stockholm in order to understand the logistics when collecting, charging and redistributing e-scooters. This micromobility study shed light on e-scooter logistics.
Results show a rapid evolution in charging and redistribution routines. Several actors have gone from simply collecting the e-scooters every night and putting them back fully charged on the street the morning after, to partnerships with logistic companies, using EVs or even cargo-bikes, and/or hiring in-house staff to work on e-scooter redistribution. The e-scooters are constantly improved, and now almost all operators use battery swap and have more robust and heavier e-scooters with a substantially longer life. Study results are available at https://www.eemec.eu/kb/article/e-scooters-in-stockholm/
A current study by RISE and City of Stockholm indicates that free-floating electric car sharing often complements public transport and reduces the need for urban citizens to have their own car. Moreover, the study shows that free-floating electric shared cars have a higher occupancy rate than average cars in Stockholm. Consequently, electric car-sharing services could contribute substantially to a more energy- and resource-efficient urban mobility. The full study will be published in February.