MAIDEN VOYAGE ON LAND
The Urban Collëctif Citroën, Accor and JCDecaux join forces to present their shared vision for the future of urban mobility.
Transport plays an essential role in daily life yet is often
communities, while contributing to the development of
criticised for being unfit for purpose, with services that
sustainable cities,” he notes. “Extending the hotel experience
are inefficient, over-crowded and over-priced. Some cities,
outside the walls of our establishments is in line with our bold
particularly those with a rapidly-growing population, are in
and modern vision of hospitality.”
need of a complete overhaul to make way for cleaner, safer,
Damien Perrot, Global Senior Vice President Design at
more flexible modes of travel that better serve commuters.
Accor, adds: “Each pod is a bold and modern interpretation
Enter The Urban Collëctif, a new partnership between
of interior and automotive design. They are designed beyond
Citroën, Accor and JCDecaux – three French companies with
the conventions and standards that the industry is using
an international presence in the daily lives of city-dwellers
today, with precision engineering, high-end materials,
– who have presented their shared vision for the future of
refined aesthetics and revamped functions and applications.
urban mobility.
Thanks to this unprecedented partnership, which is highly
Driven by the belief that future mobility must address both safety and wellbeing, The Urban Collëctif has created
innovative both in form and substance, we are creating endless opportunities for the future.”
a revolutionary mobility concept, drawing on its 200 years
With the open-source approach, any third-party can
of combined experience in innovation. Using an open-source
develop a pod compatible with the technical specifications of
model dubbed Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision, the
The Citroën Skate, a move that will bring new opportunities
concept is based on an electric platform known as The Citroën
and, if successful, significantly improve the quality of life
Skate, and a range of pods that serve a variety of needs.
for commuters. “At Citroën, we examine medium and long-
The driverless skates are designed to travel in dedicated
term trends to anticipate consumer expectations and needs,”
lanes within the existing infrastructure, moving non-stop
concludes Vincent Cobée, Citroën General Manager. “We
around the city and picking up a pod on request. The pods,
believe that this new concept can redefine the framework of
each offering a unique experience, have been designed by
urban mobility: shared, electric and autonomous. With the
Accor and JCDecaux in line with their brand philosophy. The
solution we are presenting in partnership with Accor and
JCDecaux pod builds on the success of its functional street
JCDecaux, we are inventing autonomous mobility for all.”
furniture while Accor looks to Sofitel and Pullman, two of its hotel brands for inspiration. For Sébastien Bazin, Accor’s
See overleaf for details on the design of the pods.
Chairman and CEO, the project is an opportunity to develop in new ways: “With nearly 5,200 hotels worldwide, our group is active in the local ecosystem and committed to offering ever more exclusive experiences, both to travellers and local
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