The Transport and Mobility sector in the Lyon area is a European benchmark for governance and collaborative projects. Lyon was also voted the top French city for mobility in 2019 by the think-tank “Les Clés de la Mobilité” (Keys of mobility), which carried out a survey of the 75 most densely-inhabited areas in France. According to the think-tank, the city “has implemented the most initiatives to provide its residents and businesses with a broad, diversified and accessible range of transport and mobility solutions, with clearly-stated environmental objectives.” Here’s an in-depth look at three of the initiatives that are helping Lyon reach its Smart City goal by creating a “more agile and balanced” area.
Enedis – promoting new forms of transport
Enedis has joined forces with the start-up E-totem in Saint Étienne and Izivia in Lyon to inject new drive and momentum into electric mobility (e-mobility) in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. 
In Saint Etienne’s urban area “the first objective we are focussing on is the deployment of charging stations on request,” announced Richard Robin, regional head of developing e-mobility at Enedis. 100 new charging stations are planned by 2020, but they will not be located according to installation plans drawn up by technicians and local authorities. Instead, the stations will be positioned according to users’ wishes and choices – a first for France!
In Greater Lyon, it means 641 additional charging points will be fitted by 2021, including initiatives aimed at facilitating the right to recharge in shared housing developments. “For the first time in France, housing developments in the Lyon area will benefit from an innovative solution creating a network of recharging points,” Richard Robin said.
Meet the internet start-ups at Lyon Parc Auto’s Laboratory!
The Lab, launched in 2018 by Lyon Parc Auto, is an experimental laboratory for start-ups working in the field of urban mobility. A number of start-ups are currently making use of the 280 sq. m. co-working space provided by the LPA, including:
→ Mob-energy, which offers a charging solution for electric vehicles in car parks: a charging robot that moves from car to car! The robot can charge 48 cars in 24 hours, and once an order has been placed it manages the queue by prioritising vehicles according to parking times or charging amounts etc.
→ Shipotsu, which provides baggage handling services for business professionals on business trips. The start-up offers to pick up travellers and their luggage and drop them off safely according to their instructions (times, places etc.). Customers can personalise the transport options to suit their wishes or their limitations, thus enjoying a made-to-measure mobility service.
→ Arskan, an expert in 3D visualisation and progressive image compression that is developing a virtual reality platform for business professionals and has created a digital twin for the Cordeliers Car Park.
Carl Move wants to educate users about soft mobility
The Lyon-based start-up Carl Move, launched in 2017 by Cyprien Bardonnet and also based in the LPA Lab, has announced that it wants to create an école des mobilités (mobility school) in Lyon by 2020.
The school will work in collaboration with the LPA with the aim of raising citizens’ awareness through events on soft mobility, which means any form of human-powered or zero-impact transport. Carl Move is already offering two solutions for supporting citizens and businesses as they make the transition towards more sustainable transport:
- A training service provided by driving schools, at no additional cost to learners, which aims to “teach French Permis B. driving licence students about car sharing. How to manage passengers and how to organise car sharing and so on,” explains Cyprien Bardonnet.
- A service for employees, based on a simple principle: Carl’s instructors and presenters alternate to provide three-hour training sessions for employees. The first hour is spent in a driving school vehicle re-learning a few basic rules, primarily about green driving techniques; the second hour involves mobility training; and the last hour is spent testing electric vehicles.
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