Smart Mobility and How it is Impacting Fleets in the Next 10 Years

As fleets grapple with environmental challenges and the need to be as efficient as possible, a significant avenue for addressing these concerns is the ongoing transition to smart mobility. This innovative approach signifies a paradigm shift in our transportation systems, placing strong emphasis on cleanliness, safety, and efficiency through technological advancements.

This revolutionary transformation in society, however, may cause some apprehension among stakeholders in the commercial transportation sector, given that it signals great, yet ultimately necessary changes. In this article, we will cover the fundamentals of smart mobility, including how it is impacting fleets in the next 10 years.

What is Smart Mobility?

Principally, smart mobility refers to the use of diverse transportation modes as alternatives or supplements to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Specifically, the concept includes public transit, private and commercial vehicles, scooters, and bicycles. 

Originating due to the pressing issues of escalating traffic congestion, along with its negative effects such as pollution, health complications, and time wastage, smart mobility is driven by the integration of innovative technology like the internet of things (IoT). This integration directly aims to heighten the efficiency and sustainability of vehicle fleets by making various forms of transport more accessible.

Key Technologies in Smart Mobility

As mentioned, smart mobility means the adoption of new technologies for transportation systems like electric vehicle (EV) fleets which reduce CO2 emissions, using rechargeable batteries for power instead of fuel, an initiative that has already reached fleet management. Additionally, bus fleets, as enhanced by tech, offer features like electronic ticketing to lessen waste alongside real-time information to increase user-friendliness. 

How smart mobility works exactly is that sensors and algorithms are able to gather real-time data, optimising flow and informing a fleet’s drivers of whether they can avoid congestion. As well as this, mobile apps assist employees with dynamic route planning which eliminates idling. Further still, surveillance systems also collect traffic data so that fleet managers can make more informed decisions.

More recently, it’s been shown that artificial Intelligence and machine learning can be put to use in this context in order to analyse fleet mobility data, predict patterns, and personalise recommendations. Likewise, newly developed autonomous vehicles (AVs) can leverage sensors and fleet management software to increase safety, efficiency, and thereby embody a comprehensive smart mobility solution.

Benefits of Smart Mobility

The benefits of smart mobility for fleet management are numerous, some of which you may have already noted:

• Less urban congestion - Smart mobility improves our existing transportation infrastructure to minimise travel times and the occurrence of traffic jams, boosting overall fleet efficiency.
  
  
• Sustainability in Transport - More widespread use of EVs and shared vehicles in fleet operations mitigates the environmental impact associated with transportation’s polluting emissions.
  
  
• Improved safety - The use of surveillance and sensors allow for more efficient monitoring and management of transportation, reducing the risk of on-road incidents in vehicle fleets.
  
  
• Connectivity - The level of connectivity afforded by smart mobility solutions based on the IoT makes communication between fleet managers and their drivers seamless, increasing coordination.
  
  
• Optimised routing - Smart mobility provides accurate and reliable real-time data to create even more dynamic fleet route planning which takes current traffic conditions and all transport options into account.

What Smart Mobility Means for Fleet Management

Although this is a glimpse at the concept of smart mobility, a number of these changes in commercial transportation are already here. For instance, fleet electrification is increasing by the day in popularity, and not least owing to the UK Government’s 2035 ICE ban and the expansion of the ULEZ.

But in summary, for the fleet management industry, smart mobility means the growing usage of EVs and AVs paired with less downtime resulting from the reduction of congestion. Moreover, further approaches to route optimisation will be opened up, spurred on by a greater level of accessibility to fleet data and the actionable insights which it produces. 

On top of a higher degree of driver safety, fleet management might evolve towards the adoption of mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), better asset utilisation, and more. It is certain that in the next 10 years fleet management will witness transformative changes as smart mobility continues to advance.

Though, naturally, such seismic shifts can be worrying too. Many may be wondering how their fleet operations will adapt to such changes. It’s for this reason why we at MICHELIN Connected Fleet have incorporated the idea of smart mobility within our fleet management solutions. 

Our solutions will help you embrace these innumerable innovations by including our data-driven, consultative approach, and also easing your transition to a greener fleet. If you’re interested in becoming a part of the change that’s already happening today by making your fleet more sustainable, safe, and efficient, then be sure to make an enquiry into our services and solutions.