EXPERIMENTAL and pilot projects reinforcing Dundee’s position as a leader in clean transport solutions has come under the spotlight.
Councillors will be given an update on the work of the £1.4m Mobility Innovation Living Lab (MILL) since the first wave of projects was commissioned in the city in 2018.
The MILL programme has developed Dundee into a real-world test bed for innovative transport technologies and services that seek to enhance and simplify the traveller experience by using mobility data to help inform decisions about when and how to travel.
A number of innovate workstreams to improve the visitor parking experience in Dundee, establish a public e-bike scheme and expand car sharing and fleet sharing have been progressed over the last two years with more innovation set to follow as the city enter the next phase of the MILL programme.
Meanwhile almost £350,000 of research and support for cleaner, more integrated transport solutions the city could be set to get the green light from councillors.
Tenders to deliver services associated with Mobility as a Service (MaaS) pilots in the city, and to develop a new Smart Mobility App are set to be discussed by the city development committee next week.
Mark Flynn committee convener said: “As more and more data is gathered from what is now nearly two years of smart mobility work in the city, it is important that we make sure it is captured, presented and used effectively for the future.
“Part of that next stage of pilots is to develop an easy to use app for people to connect to multiple transport services using their smartphone. It will provide on-demand access to real-time data on a range of transport services, with the aim of making it more convenient and desirable to use public, shared and sustainable transport for journeys in and around the city.”
After a competitive process, the committee is being asked to approve a £150,000 tender from Urban Foresight to deliver professional services associated with the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) pilots. And after a separate tender and similar competitive process in which the submissions were judged on both price and quality, the report also recommends that Ember’s £194,225 bid to develop a smart mobility app for Dundee is accepted.
MaaS focusses on addressing barriers to using public or active transport for travelling in the city and looks at how technology can enhance the experience of visitors to Dundee through the use of developments like smart ticketing; improved information, booking and transaction; and service optimisation.
The MaaS pilot project is being funded through Transport Scotland, while money to develop the app is included within the previously agreed European Regional Development Fund, matched against backing from Transport Scotland’s Switched on Towns and Cities Fund and the Scottish Cities Alliance Smart Cities programme.
The city development committee meets on Monday (October 26).
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
