Milan: Piloting on-demand taxi sharing
The Challenge
The transition of Milan's mobility system towards more sustainable modes and reducing private vehicle ownership by citizens is at the core of Milan's mobility strategy.
In order to increase the offer of sustainable transport modes Milan's Transport Agency, AMAT, has been testing different options to create cost-efficient, reliable, comfortable and safe shared mobility services.
As a means to increase the environmental and economic efficiency of urban transport, shared taxis rides are considered to positively contribute to the transformation of the mobility system. This assumption has been tested in a pilot.
The Solution
The software platform provided by Ride With Via allowed to test shared on-demand taxi rides in Milan. The service has been tested with two service options, the "Door-to-door" service and the "Corner-to-corner" service, where the passenger makes a short walk to the pick-up station to optimse the route. The advanced technology matches riders with the best vehicle taxi in real-time, and routes that taxi in a smart way through the city. Driver have been trained to use the driver's app and corresponding platform services. Driver and user are connected both via the application and a central communication service for support in case of issues with payment processing or pickup. Next to the rider and driver apps, the city is provided with a suite of administrative and reporting tools to oversee and sustainably grow the service.
Making an impact
- The service makes mobility more inclusive and economic, as final fares can be up to 50% less compared to traditional taxi service fares
- Midst the pandemic, the taxi sharing service has been piloted on a small scale to prove the technical feasibility of the service platform and related operations.
Lessons learnt
- Ride With Via was chosen as technology partner because of experience in the sector from implementations in Berlin, London and Amsterdam.
- The service is a new business model for local taxi drivers which can reduce "dead times" in between rides.
- Hygenic measures during the pandemic: To protect both driver and user, the Taxis have installed a polycarbonate dividers. Moreover, vehicles have underwent a regular disinfection routine.
- Due to the pandemic, the formal regulation that allows the permanent roll-out of shared taxi rides in Milan has been postponed. Thanks to the experience gained during the pilot, AMAT is ready to make a procurement to find a transport operator for shared taxi rides, once the regulation is in place.