OPINION
is solving and approaching the urban mobility in a different manner to confront the traffic congestion and high levels of air pollution. If we come to think of it, the arrival of new technologies at the start of the 21st century has some similarities with the start of the 20th century with the appearance of the automobile. The urban mobility sector of this century may have the new tools for another paradigm shift. This ‘perfect storm’ originates in two main circumstances that have come together: first, the confluence of new technologies that act as a catalyst for the emergence of new business models around mobility and, second, the cultural change that is happening that produces very quickly behavioral changes in the citizens:
A NEW REVOLUTION Sancho sees similiarities with the emergence of new auto technology with those seen at the start of the 20th century.
New technologies
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Appearance of the electric vehicle, which is becoming cheaper with decreasing costs of the batteries. Big Data, data analytics tools, machine learning and artificial intelligence are essential to achieve the efficiency that new urban transport models need and that make economic sense. Autonomous vehicle technology: It still has many challenges ahead, not only of the vehicle technology itself, but also of the deployment of the necessary communication infrastructure in the cities and of the regulation itself. We shall see this happening sooner than later. Implementation of the 5G technology will dramatically improve connectivity and shall enable the Internet of Things (IoT).
sophisticated urban mobility technologies, a large selection of food delivery and many options as far as sharing different transportation modes, where ACCIONA is already an actor with our flourishing Moto-sharing service. All players that make up the mobility sector are learning on the go. Solutions to citizen mobility concerns are generated at a faster rate than regulatory capacity, but there is no single formula for addressing this business model. Governments should encourage collaboration between cities that have similar problems and should rely on the knowledge and experience that the private sector can bring. Urban mobility is one of the main problems of large cities, and factoring the urgency in combating the climate change, allowing the decarbonisation of the economy and encouraging
According to the WHO, one-fourth of all estimated global deaths are linked to the environment”
the use of the new technologies will certainly improve the quality of life for the citizens. In ACCIONA, we are focused in offering solutions to these problems through the provision of innovative and sustainable mobility services. This is at the core of all our businesses. We heavily invest in de-carbonisation through the generation of 100% renewable energy and the construction and management of different solutions in infrastructure and services that mitigate the effects of climate urgency. Our company has recently launched the Moto-sharing service as part of our sustainable electric shared mobility strategy. In line with ACCIONA’s commitment to de-carbonization, our scooter sharing service uses the “ACCIONA Movilidad” app to provide information about the CO2 emissions avoided by using a shared scooter instead of a conventional private vehicle. More than 7,000 units are already deployed in different European cities in Spain such as Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia and Zaragoza but also in Italy (Milan) and Portugal (Lisbon). Given the present situation all over the world due to the spread of the Covid-19, and as part of the ACCIONA’s commitment to the society, we have made available one million disposable hairnets to hospitals, care centers and residences throughout Spain. These are the nets usually used with the helmet within our Moto-sharing services. At ACCIONA, we are devoted to joining the challenges associated to the urban mobility by creating sustainable solutions that respond to the needs of the citizens and that equally invest in the future of our planet.
Cultural changes
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The priorities have changed. The new normal is a permanently connected society used to depend on software and applications for the needs in their everyday life. The trend in the population is not so much to demand their own assets, but to enjoy and share them. We see a large business growth around the collaborative economy. Everywhere. The general public has greater environmental awareness and the governments and authorities have more commitment and receptiveness to new sustainable solutions.
All these new technologies coupled with the changes in the people’s behaviour have triggered, in my opinion, the appearance of new business models. There are more meconstructionnews.com
DEPLOYING DRONES TO DO THE DIRTY WORK Acciona has said it has begun using drones during tunnel construction phases to obtain regular digital records of works. The firm says it can analyse the volume of material excavated, the consumption of inputs, execution deadlines, incidents, etc., and carry out its processing without interfering in tasks done in the workplace. According to a statement, the technology, which can be used on tunnel projects excavated by conventional methods (explosives,
hammers or cutters), as well as on underground mining projects, can be supplemented with photographic resources to regularly monitor a project. Tripod-based laser scanner systems are currently used, supplemented with conventional topography, to obtain digital models of the inside of tunnels under construction. However, these methods are time-consuming and offer limited versatility, which is not compatible with
the production performance of the works, the firm said. Acciona explained that it is constantly developing applications to leverage drone technology in order to collect real time data about major transport projects, which will help its managers understand what is happening onsite. The firm said the aerial information would enable it to monitor progress and help detect incidents before they became costly or slowed down the project.
MAY-JUNE 2020
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