In March of this year, the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis (GZM) established a partnership by signing a letter of intent with Vooom, a Polish startup in the mobility industry. This marks the beginning of joint efforts aimed at developing modern transport solutions for the Metropolis.
The company will provide GZM with its proprietary Multimodal Planner service, which will allow residents to determine optimal travel routes by freely combining shared transport modes, such as zero-emission cars by the minute, scooters, mopeds, and public transport.
– Communication and transport in GZM is a multi-faceted and difficult area to manage. At the same time, we are aware that the transport needs of residents are changing and we must keep up with them. Today, the key concept is sustainable urban mobility, which means providing many travel options using the most efficient means of transport. As a Metropolis, we are open to testing and implementing pioneering solutions in this area – says Henryk Borczyk, Deputy Chairman of the GZM Board.
Choosing the right means of transport to get around the city is currently quite a difficult task. The dynamic development of modern solutions, such as cars by the minute, scooters, or mopeds, has significantly expanded our transport options in recent years, while at the same time making it easy to get lost in the huge number of available vehicles and their accompanying applications – after all, every carrier must have a separate app. This state of affairs, instead of relieving urban traffic jams in line with the idea of micromobility, only introduces unnecessary chaos and confusion. As a result, confused residents prefer to stick to well-known, familiar solutions and choose to travel by private car, which clogs up and pollutes the city.
A truly forward-looking solution is to create an integrated urban ecosystem covering all means of ecological transport and public transport. A step in this direction is the implementation of the Multimodal Planner in GZM, which will allow residents to move around the city efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way, and will also help to relieve congestion on the roads.
In December last year, Vooom established a strategic partnership with the city of Gdynia to jointly promote modern urban mobility and implement the Planner in the local Gdynia application. The joint efforts of Vooom and the Gdynia authorities to implement the smart city idea and environmentally friendly multimodal transport in Poland were the first initiative of this kind in the country.
– Such an undertaking requires us, above all, to work closely and openly with local authorities. As a company, we feel honored to be part of another project of this type after Gdynia and to contribute to the modernization of transport in Polish cities. The Planner service will launch in Gdynia any moment now, and we cannot wait to see the first results of our work – says Łukasz Anwajler, a member of the Vooom board.
The actions of GZM and Vooom are in line with the “smart city” idea, which promotes a vision of a green Metropolis, free from exhaust fumes and friendly to its residents. Gradually reducing car traffic and convincing residents to use alternative and “green” means of transport is an important aspect of a city that is truly friendly to its inhabitants. Thanks to the Multimodal Planner, Vooom and GZM aim to provide the Metropolis residents with a sensible alternative to traveling by private car – thereby taking up the fight against ubiquitous road congestion and harmful exhaust fumes.
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund under the Smart Growth Operational Program. The project is implemented as part of the National Centre for Research and Development’s Fast Track competition / Industrial research and development work carried out by enterprises.
Source of information: Vooom/GZM