The app is a part of a complete solution that helps both cities and citizens to choose greener transport methods and inform about the impact these choices have both for each individual and the city.
The solution is based on two main pillars: The MIM-CityService monitoring solution and the MIM-UserApp, Resvis. It has been tested and evaluated with the purpose of creating a product that can be sold after completion of the project.
Nina Egeli, Head of Program at Nordic Innovation, highlights the usability of the solution as a tool in the green mobility transition:
“A unique Nordic collaboration between three SMEs and Östersund municipality has resulted in solutions of high relevance to the green transition in mobility covering two very important aspects; nudging and city planning. I do hope Nordic cities and employers will see the value in the new solutions and explore the opportunities together with Nordic travelers and commuters, who will benefit in multiple ways from making sustainable choices,” she says.
Reward system makes it fun to use
The MIM-UserApp, Resvis, provides a route planner presenting different travel options including their CO2 emissions and personalized information on commonly taken routes such as road conditions and congestion. The app user can see the impact that their travel choices have on the environment and their own health, and the user is rewarded for making green choices by earning bonus points and different types of rewards.
By the end of the project, 30-40% of the users reported that the app made them change their travel habits and that the app’s bonus point system and competition feature made it fun for users to use. The solution managed to not only reach citizens who already had some level of interest in green travel, but also car users.
The app was selected as a third-place finalist at the European Mobility week 2021 competing with over 500 mobility actors. Also here, the app was noted for its point system and competition features.
The European Mobility week concluded:
“Who said active mobility and sustainable transport couldn’t be any fun?”
Full GDPR compliance
The MIM-CityService monitoring solution measures travel chains and carbon footprint and it allows city planners and administrators to measure traffic information in the city, such as the popularity of bus routes or common zones of congestion.
One of the main concerns for the solution is full GDPR compliance and the protection of the individual user’s privacy, however, personal data created by end users of the app is saved on the user’s own mobile phone. In the monitor part of the solution, travel data is presented as snapshots or collated reports, which means that no individual user can be identified.
Would not have been possible without the Nordic collaboration
The project is developed as a collaboration between the four Nordic partners: Applied Autonomy from Norway, Kobla A/S from Norway, Moprim OY from Finland and City of Östersund from Sweden.
Olav Madland, CEO at Applied Autonomy, highlights the Nordic aspect as one of the most important elements of the project:
“The project would not have been possible without being set up as a Nordic project. Nordic actors have learned a lot from each other because of this project and the expertise required was not available in one single country. The project benefited from participants bringing their own first-hand experience from their respective countries to the discussions,” he says.
The app and the monitoring tool are developed by the Sustainable Insights: Measure, Inform, Mobilise (MIM) project that ran from 2020-2023. The aim of the MIM project has been to develop a solution that provides both citizens and cities with tools to make greener travel options.
The project is funded under the Nordic Green Mobility program which is one of the eight initiatives launched by the Nordic ministers of trade and industry with the aim to make the Nordic region world-leading in green mobility.
