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Driving electric, autonomous, all-weather buses past the 'Finnish' line

9 August 2019

Earlier this year, ‘Gacha’ – the first autonomous, all-weather, electric bus – was unveiled in Helsinki (Finland), and has since been introduced in Espoo (Finland).

Gacha was developed in partnership between Finnish company Sensible 4, which provided the bus’ technology, and Muji, a Japanese company that worked on the design.

The autonomous bus is particularly unique in its ability to function in all weather conditions. This is especially crucial in a country like Finland that faces harsh winters. User experience was also carefully considered. Gacha can accommodate ten seated passengers, and six additional standing adults, and its interior aims to foster a “social environment.”

Marja-Liisa Niinikoski, CEO of Helsinki Business Hub, explains that Greater Helsinki has, “several urban testbeds enabling the creation of new smart mobility solutions and the city hosts the first open-mobility-as-a-service ecosystem in the world.” These are among the many ways that the city has invested in developing mobility innovations.

Throughout 2019, the bus will continue to be rolled out in other cities throughout Finland.

To learn more about Gacha, click here.

Practitioner guidance on sustainable urban mobility plans available in new languages

7 August 2019

Four key publications have now been released in French, Hungarian, Italian and Spanish. Mobility practitioners working in these languages can now make use of three manuals on selecting measures for a sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP), and a report on developing a SUMP action plan.

In addition to providing assistance in identifying appropriate SUMP measures, the three manuals provide guidance on how to enhance select mobility fields. Each manual is tailored to a specific city profile, with beginner, intermediate and advanced SUMP cities covered. They also contain recommendations, rating systems for priorities of measures, and checklists for each city type.

The report gives guidance on how to go about approaching a crucial step in the SUMP process: the development of a SUMP action plan. It sets out responsibilities, resources, stakeholder coordination, time plans, and funding sources; breaks down action plan development into a six-step process (including an implementation plan); provides examples of action plan templates and best practice; and contains a user manual.

Read and download the documents in English, French, Hungarian, Italian and Spanish by clicking here.