Qucit at Autonomy 2024 in Paris
On 20 and 21 March 2024, the Qucit team once again attended the Autonomy Mobility World Expo (AMWE) in Paris. It was an excellent opportunity for the team to discover today's solutions and tomorrow's innovations in sustainable mobility. Here's a look back at two days of exciting of new ideas at the trade show.
Mamadou, present on the Qucit stand in Paris
What is Autonomy ?
AUTONOMY MOBILITY WORLD EXPO (AMWE) is the world's largest annual gathering of international decision-makers, institutions, NGOs, companies and start-ups focused on sustainable urban mobility solutions, welcoming more than 250 exhibitors, over 400 speakers and more than 7,000 participants every March.
What are the key trends at Autonomy ?
Among the countless innovations unveiled at the show, two trends caught the eye of our team:
The importance of shared mobility in helping to decarbonize cities
The conference focused on the crucial role of businesses and shared mobility in reducing carbon emissions. The speakers discussed the strategies and initiatives implemented by their companies to contribute to this cause.
Julian Scriven (Managing Director at Brompton Bike Hire), for example, took advantage of the conference to present his product, a folding bike manufactured by Brompton Bike Hire, and also shared the company's history. The Brompton Bike Hire brand is 40 years old. Today, the company has 85 stations in the United Kingdom.
The speakers also discussed the challenges associated with shared mobility, in particular the use of this sector as a political tool by certain decision-makers. They stressed the need for a balanced approach, combining intelligent regulation and positive incentives.
The emergence of self-service bicycle hire systems in Europe
In recent years, many towns and cities have decided to develop cycle-friendly infrastructure further to encourage cycling. This has led to the emergence of new bike-sharing systems in some cities, as well as the renewal of existing systems. The aim is to offer citizens a quality service.
A good example is Madrid, with the new Bicimad, which now has 8,250 e-bikes in 750 stations. Carlos Mateo explained that the system was free for its first year, which led to greater use. From now on, users will have to pay, the idea being to find the right way for the system to be used a lot while generating revenue from customer journeys.
Also in Spain, Marina Llobregat Villar told us that Serveo wants to add-bikes to its Bicing fleet. At present, the fleet is mixed, with more mechanical bikes. According to her, it's the uses that define the type of bikes to have in a fleet.
Aside from the Spanish cases, Anthony Rinaldi presented his vision of the future of bike sharing. In his view, the hybrid model with physical stations within the city and the addition of virtual stations in the least served areas outside the city is what will work best. If we refocus on bikes, the idea of a mixed fleet with more electric bikes will best satisfy user demand. While there is already a strong appetite for e-bikes, there is also a lot of interest in mechanical bikes.
We are delighted to have been able to take part in this latest edition of Autonomy, which gave us the opportunity to meet our customers and partners and discuss the future of micromobility.
The Qucit team looks forward to seeing you at the next Autonomy Paris in March 2025!