Camino - Automated Mobility on Demand (AMoD)

Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) and Public Transport Operators (PTOs) in NWE have a growing obligation to provide sustainable, affordable and accessible public transport (PT) to meet the EU's mandate of a 90% reduction in emissions by 2050. PTAs and PTOs are facing increasing challenges such as budget cuts, rising fuel costs, staff shortages and demographic inequalities in NWE. As a result, the provision of public transport is deteriorating, increasing car ownership and emissions in NWE to some of the highest levels in Europe (EUROSTAT, 2022). The introduction of Automated Mobility on Demand (AMoD) can improve PT offer by reducing costs and increasing accessibility, providing a sustainable alternative to private cars that could lead to a modal shift of up to 42% (McKinsey, 2023). However, PTAs and PTOs lack the know-how to plan for the sustainable implementation of AMoD in their public transport systems.

CAMINO aims to facilitate the adoption of AMoD to improve PT and reduce car dependency and greenhouse gas emissions in NWE by helping PTAs and PTOs to define why, where, when and how to deploy AMoD to improve the sustainability of PT. The project will apply a new approach to developing long-term deployment strategies by assessing high-impact use cases, defining key milestones for long-term implementation, and preparing the collaborative foundations necessary for effective deployment.

PTA Almere (NL), PTO De Lijn (BE) and the research centre ROSAS (CH) will jointly develop two strategies, 1 for PTAs and 1 for PTOs, which will provide the blueprint for the long-term integration of AMoD in PT in NWE. The strategies are based on transnational learnings from an international network of 11 industry-leading associated organisations, providing insight into state-of-the-art use cases, barriers to be overcome, and preparatory steps to ensure their effectiveness, transferability and replicability.