Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INDIMO (Inclusive digital mobility solutions)
Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2022-12-31
The proliferation of smartphones and digital technologies have produced a quickly expanding array of digital services in mobility and logistics. While significant achievements have been made mainly in terms of improving physical accessibility of transport, digital accessibility and inclusion have marginally been addressed. There is a risk that these new digital mobility and logistics services will not be available and accessible to all members of society. 22% of all European households still do not have access to broadband internet especially in rural areas. Mobile broadband penetration also shows a high variation within Europe. Internet-enabled mobility is not an obvious choice for millions of Europeans although internet access is just one of the reasons why they may be excluded. Access to digital services may be limited due to physical or socio-economic and spatial or cognitive barriers or due to no access to smartphones or certain payment method. Increased digitalisation in mobility and logistics also increases cyber threats that will have an impact not only on operations, but also on health and safety of citizens.
The overall aim of the INDIMO project was to extend the benefits of the new and emerging digitally interconnected transport system to people who currently face barriers to using such systems due to the limited physical or cognitive accessibility to the digital interfaces or socio-economic barriers. INDIMO digital mobility toolbox was co-created to help stakeholders to (re)develop and deploy more accessible and inclusive digital transport system, which is usable and accessible to the widest range of people while catering for individual needs and offering personalised mobility options.
The overall aim of the INDIMO project was to extend the benefits of the new and emerging digitally interconnected transport system to people who currently face barriers to using such systems due to the limited physical or cognitive accessibility to the digital interfaces or socio-economic barriers. INDIMO digital mobility toolbox was co-created to help stakeholders to (re)develop and deploy more accessible and inclusive digital transport system, which is usable and accessible to the widest range of people while catering for individual needs and offering personalised mobility options.
In first stage of the INDIMO project, we analysed the barriers and identified the opportunities for tapping the full potential of the digitally interconnected transport system. This was accomplished with an inclusive perspective considering the needs of citizens that are vulnerable to exclusion due to factors such as residence in peripheral locations, reduced mobility due to disabilities and/or demography, language barriers, ethnic, migration and socio-economic aspects. We defined six personas. Then we carried out 10 user case studies including 38 interviews with users, non-users and stakeholders to gather insights about the targeted user profile. Additionally, we interviewed 70 users and non-users to identify the users’ capabilities, requirements, and limitations related to the potential use of the digital mobility services and digital delivery services. The findings show that technology, if it is not accompanied by the right guidance and assistance, might be experienced as a barrier rather than as a facilitator. When digital applications do not tackle these adjustments to different populations in a clear way, traditional and learned paths to satisfy needs appear as the only alternative or, at least, as the preferred alternative.
We also identified the barriers and drivers of developing digital mobility and delivery services from the point of view of developers, operators and policy makers. 22 stakeholders were interviewed as part of 10 deployment case studies covering car- and ridesharing, bike sharing and micro mobility, smart deliveries, multimodal route planners and mobility as a service. We identified the barriers and drivers of developing digital mobility services. They are related to the market position of the services, the regulatory framework in place, the integration of the service into the public transport service network, the diversity of the vulnerable-to-exclusion groups, knowledge about the vulnerable groups, the level of user involvement (co-creation), the fast evolution of digital mobility services and the availability of local support for ensuring accessibility and inclusiveness, communication and collaboration between stakeholders.
Afterwards, these insights have been used to co-create the INDIMO digital mobility toolbox that enables stakeholders to (re)develop and deploy more accessible and inclusive services by providing guidelines, recommendations and examples of best practices. This toolbox consists of 4 components: a Universal design manual, a Universal interface language, a Cybersecurity and personal data protection guidelines and a Service evaluation tool. All of these tools were co-created by engaging end users, operators, developers and policymakers via co-creation workshops, communities of practice sessions and semi-structured interviews and tested in real-life on the (re-)development of five digitally enabled pilot services (smart delivery box, smart traffic lights for visually impaired pedestrians, on-demand ride sharing, informal ridesharing and digital platform enabled bicycle delivery service). With the help of the INDIMO tools, mobility service operators, developers, policy makers and urban and rural planners will be able to co-create solutions and design strategies necessary for reducing digital exclusion from mobility and logistics services, thereby extending the promised benefits of these services to all sections of the society. Since the INDIMO tools have universal design principles at the very core of their development process, with little adaptations these tools may also be extended to other forms of digital and non-digital mobility services.
We also identified the barriers and drivers of developing digital mobility and delivery services from the point of view of developers, operators and policy makers. 22 stakeholders were interviewed as part of 10 deployment case studies covering car- and ridesharing, bike sharing and micro mobility, smart deliveries, multimodal route planners and mobility as a service. We identified the barriers and drivers of developing digital mobility services. They are related to the market position of the services, the regulatory framework in place, the integration of the service into the public transport service network, the diversity of the vulnerable-to-exclusion groups, knowledge about the vulnerable groups, the level of user involvement (co-creation), the fast evolution of digital mobility services and the availability of local support for ensuring accessibility and inclusiveness, communication and collaboration between stakeholders.
Afterwards, these insights have been used to co-create the INDIMO digital mobility toolbox that enables stakeholders to (re)develop and deploy more accessible and inclusive services by providing guidelines, recommendations and examples of best practices. This toolbox consists of 4 components: a Universal design manual, a Universal interface language, a Cybersecurity and personal data protection guidelines and a Service evaluation tool. All of these tools were co-created by engaging end users, operators, developers and policymakers via co-creation workshops, communities of practice sessions and semi-structured interviews and tested in real-life on the (re-)development of five digitally enabled pilot services (smart delivery box, smart traffic lights for visually impaired pedestrians, on-demand ride sharing, informal ridesharing and digital platform enabled bicycle delivery service). With the help of the INDIMO tools, mobility service operators, developers, policy makers and urban and rural planners will be able to co-create solutions and design strategies necessary for reducing digital exclusion from mobility and logistics services, thereby extending the promised benefits of these services to all sections of the society. Since the INDIMO tools have universal design principles at the very core of their development process, with little adaptations these tools may also be extended to other forms of digital and non-digital mobility services.
INDIMO has produced new insights into the needs and requirements of users and non-users of digital mobility services. Based on these insights the first set of European guidelines on how to make digital mobility services more inclusive and accessible have been developed.
In the next stage of the project, these guidelines have been tested and validated in five pilot projects (Madrid, Emilia-Romagna, Galilee, Berlin, Antwerp) where developers and operators applied the recommendations to (re)develop existing services or deploy new ones. These pilots provided feedback to the tool development based on their evaluation. The pilot projects addressed both inclusion and access to digital personalised on-demand mobility services in different contexts and service models: introducing digital technology to enable e-commerce in rural areas in Emilia-Romagna (Italy), designing inclusive traffic lights for pedestrians in Antwerp (Belgium), co-creating an inclusive informal ride-sharing service in an area with ethnic minorities in Galilee (Israel), testing and improving the users’ and the couriers’ experience to deliver goods and food to people with mobility and time constraints issues in Madrid (Spain), testing a safe ride-pooling service with emergency safety button in Berlin (Germany).
Eventually, the project produced the final versions of the tools in the INDIMO Inclusive Digital Mobility Toolbox including the Universal Design Manual for digital transport services, Universal Language Interface Icons for transport services, Guidelines for cybersecurity and personal data protection and the INDIMO Service Evaluation Tool.
The project succeeded in raising interest in and attention to the inclusivity and accessibility issues that digital mobility and delivery solutions are raising. This was achieved by involving stakeholders from policy makers, service and software developers, service operators and users to co-create the INDIMO Inclusive Digital Mobility Toolbox. The INDIMO Co-creation Community and the local communities were practice are good partners in these efforts.
In the next stage of the project, these guidelines have been tested and validated in five pilot projects (Madrid, Emilia-Romagna, Galilee, Berlin, Antwerp) where developers and operators applied the recommendations to (re)develop existing services or deploy new ones. These pilots provided feedback to the tool development based on their evaluation. The pilot projects addressed both inclusion and access to digital personalised on-demand mobility services in different contexts and service models: introducing digital technology to enable e-commerce in rural areas in Emilia-Romagna (Italy), designing inclusive traffic lights for pedestrians in Antwerp (Belgium), co-creating an inclusive informal ride-sharing service in an area with ethnic minorities in Galilee (Israel), testing and improving the users’ and the couriers’ experience to deliver goods and food to people with mobility and time constraints issues in Madrid (Spain), testing a safe ride-pooling service with emergency safety button in Berlin (Germany).
Eventually, the project produced the final versions of the tools in the INDIMO Inclusive Digital Mobility Toolbox including the Universal Design Manual for digital transport services, Universal Language Interface Icons for transport services, Guidelines for cybersecurity and personal data protection and the INDIMO Service Evaluation Tool.
The project succeeded in raising interest in and attention to the inclusivity and accessibility issues that digital mobility and delivery solutions are raising. This was achieved by involving stakeholders from policy makers, service and software developers, service operators and users to co-create the INDIMO Inclusive Digital Mobility Toolbox. The INDIMO Co-creation Community and the local communities were practice are good partners in these efforts.