Regulation and technology, cornerstones of the Smart City

Remember the cars in American director Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future trilogy? Thirty years on, the flying cars and hoverboards in the film are like the electric cars and bikes we see around us today. They’re all symbols of the emerging Smart Cities, where intelligence converges with technology.

As I have mentioned in the past, these new forms of mobility are primarily a matter for our industry, and it’s our responsibility to lead the way on that front. But the advent of this new urban model represents much more than that. It is a project on which we all need to work together, and the engagement of governments and local authorities is crucial in that. Underpinning it all are the new technologies we can now use to breathe life into ideas that previously belonged to the realm of fiction. 

Public and private sectors – teaming up to anticipate future usage patterns

Over a century ago, the increasing affordability of private cars brought about profound changes on the urban fabric. It was the end of shared and open public spaces, as roads were separated into distinct zones, one for cars and one for pedestrians. In parallel with this shift, urban transit and individual modes of transportation evolved through public and private initiatives, without local authorities setting out any overarching policy for regulating them.

Although regional disparities and inequalities still remain, all conurbations now face the same challenge of strong and scattered population growth. The cityscape is expanding, and government and local authorities are on the frontline tackling the crisis. They see this need equally as an opportunity to totally transform the city around a shared goal of improving the quality of urban life. This will boost attractiveness as well as economic growth. The one thing we all agree on is that mobility must be comprehensive, connected, and inclusive – and above all, it must take account of today’s environmental imperatives.

This is essentially what the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wrote: “For the common good, it is up to us – the State, the region, the city and the local authorities – to join forces and ensure that shared electric cars, scooters, bicycles and scooters combine to make up a comprehensive mobility mix.” (Respirer by Anne Hidalgo with Antoine Leiris, Editions de l'Observatoire). In 2007, Paris demonstrated its commitment to this goal by launching Vélib’, positioning the city as a pioneer of alternative mobility. Vélib’ is a large-scale bike-sharing scheme for residents of Paris and its surrounding suburbs, introduced under a public service contract. When it was set up, it entailed major new infrastructure being built, in the form of cycle lanes. On-demand bike services have been introduced in many cities around the world, including the Santander Cycles (formerly known as Barclays Cycle Hire) in London, Hangzhou Public Bicycle in China and many other schemes elsewhere.

At the same time, a number of car-sharing schemes are emerging in urban areas – to give an example, Renault joined forces with Ferrovial Servicios, a Spanish infrastructure operator, to launch Zity in 2017. Now, over 100,000 people have used the fleet of 500 Renault ZOEs. Madrid’s policy of restricting parking in the city center to zero-emissions vehicles has been instrumental to this success.

In a similar vein, we’re working very closely with various other cities so we can tailor our vehicles and services to satisfy changing lifestyle and societal expectations. But we won’t rest on our laurels. We’re keeping a keen eye on what they’re doing in the developing cities in Asia, where the challenges are even greater. Mixed-mode transportation is so critical that developing cities “encode” – if I can use that word – the issues and related best practice before they’re built! This makes them great testing grounds for regulating what we call surface transport.

Artificial intelligence opening the door for the Smart City

The advent of new technology has had a profound impact on many aspects of our lives, not least on cities and our experience of them. This was particularly evident at this year’s VivaTech, Europe's leading event for innovating technology and start-ups.

For three days, debates are centered on artificial intelligence, data and the Internet of Things, which we all know can be harnessed to reinvent urban living and planning. 

In the long term, we’ll be able to use the data that is collected to optimize assets and resources. This means more precisely addressing people’s needs and better regulating traffic flow, which in turn will help optimize safety and air quality.

This far-reaching technology even enables us to fine-tune our vehicles to match needs and usage patterns. At VivaTech this year, we presented an innovative joint scheme we’re trialing with La Poste (postal service company in France), which successfully demonstrates the new balance that needs to be found. Renault EZ?FLEX is an ingenious fleet of electric and connected light commercial vehicles that are both compact and agile. With France’s e-commerce sector growing by 15% a year, last-mile delivery clearly needed to be rethought to factor in environmental concerns and the needs of delivery drivers. By analyzing of their data and feedback, we can make further adjustments to tailor the vehicle as precisely as possible to the needs of users. This approach based on deep learning is a harbinger of the future – just like the driverless technologies that we’re currently testing with partners at the Saclay campus and TRANSDEV. In a bid to advance shared mobility for all, we’re developing new prototypes of an autonomous Renault ZOE to be available on demand through a specially created app.

Data is also at the heart of on-board entertainment. As vehicles become increasingly connected and autonomous, the on-board experience is also undergoing its own transformation. Groupe Renault aims to be one of the first car manufacturers to offer users an enriching media experience by making content, such as news, podcasts, music and audio books, available directly inside the car. That’s why we’re giving our on?board content platform a new dimension by establishing a partnership with Publicis Groupe.

Public authorities need to do much more than just define the transport of tomorrow, and, more widely, the smart city. They must also legislate on data and its uses. This legislation, backed by governments, will have a strong impact on business. Mobility services will need to be responsive so they can quickly adapt their products and the way people are using them. That is the major focus for Groupe Renault – offer its users the highest quality of service while also consolidating its strong business model to guarantee long-term success.