When the Internet and mobility grow together, new synergies and business concepts emerge. In the Mobility Competence Group (CG) in the eco Association, industry experts will shed light on opportunities and challenges in the future, says the new CG Head, Martin Kumstel from Uber, in an interview.
Mr Kumstel, why do we need a Mobility Competence Group?
Mobility is becoming increasingly digital; even classic mobility companies have recognised this and are investing accordingly. The trend has taken hold of the entire industry. This gives rise to numerous complex issues and questions. At the same time, there is a lack of suitable spaces to discuss and jointly tackle the challenges within the sector. We want to change that with the eco Mobility CG. We want to create an Internet-based mobility ecosystem. eco offers us the best starting conditions for this because many eco member companies have the necessary know-how and are very interested in exchanging ideas and sharing knowledge. At the same time, there is a pull effect for new members to participate.
How do the companies benefit from the exchange regarding digital mobility?
Stand on a street corner in any major city and take a look around: The number of mobility offers is growing and becoming more and more diverse. The individual providers still operate very independently, but some have already started to create integrated offers for customers. Multimodal travel chains, i.e. mobility offers across providers, can only be created cooperatively. This is still too rare. The companies learn through their work and involvement in the CG: How can different offers be interlinked and what interfaces are needed? How can mobility chains be made more reliable? What are the technical requirements?
So city centres clogged with car traffic will soon be a thing of the past?
There will be increasingly more attractive offers than driving into the city in your own car. The trend towards multimodal mobility will gradually spread to suburban and rural areas. We are on the verge of a mobility turnaround, which we also urgently need in order to achieve the climate protection goals. Improved traffic flows will save up to 50 per cent of CO2 emissions in urban car traffic by 2030, an eco study* recently showed. However, a prerequisite for this mobility turnaround are sustainable offers that are easy to book and use, which we will promote with the Mobility CG.
Keyword mobility data, what is planned here?
With the digitalisation of mobility, a great deal of data can be collected. IT security and data protection are therefore fundamental issues for us. We also want to help shape the corresponding regulatory framework conditions and are seeking discussions with those responsible, for example, in the (German) Ministry of Transport. The responsible use of data is another topic. In addition, numerous business concepts are emerging, as this data can also be used to optimise traffic flows or better identify special mobility needs. I am looking forward to lively discussions within the Competence Group on these topics and more!
Mr Kumstel, thank you very much for the interview!
Further information and upcoming dates at https://international.eco.de/topics/eco-mobility/.
The eco Association has started a new Mobility Competence Group. Read more here.
