From Gut Feel to Data-Driven

Welcome, Ken! Mobility Week is a great time to spotlight Mobilize. Can you tell us what the platform is about, in a few sentences? 

Ken Casier: Of course. Imagine you're a local government official trying to improve traffic flow in a specific area. Maybe there's a big event, construction, or ongoing road work. Perhaps residents have been complaining about cut-throughs. 

In the past, you would have to plan various scenarios and implement them physically, blocking roads or putting up new signs. Each scenario could take weeks or even months to test, often using manual methods like tallying data.

Mobilize changes that. In a nutshell, Mobilize allows government officials to test different traffic scenarios virtually, in a digital twin. This allows them to quickly see the impact of each scenario within minutes. Gut feel has its value, but Mobilize offers data-driven evidence to guide sustainable policy-making. 

"Gut feel has its value, but Mobilize offers data-driven evidence to guide sustainable policy-making."

That's a tall order. So, how does this work? 

Ken Casier: The digital twin in Mobilize integrates data from various public and private sources. This includes historical and real-time information on vehicle counts, speeds, and traffic congestion, collected through sensors. We also incorporate geographic and contextual data like planned roadworks, events, and weather conditions, which can significantly impact traffic patterns. TomTom, Here, and Telraam are crucial data sources, among others.  

Government officials can experiment with simulating different scenarios. They can digitally add, close, or change the direction of streets and adjust parameters like speed limits. Each new scenario visualizes the impact of the changes, both visually and numerically, in a matter of moments. Resident feedback and participation surveys can be consulted to create those scenarios.

You mentioned legacy data sources. Is there still a lot of that around? 

Ken Casier: Absolutely. Cities and municipalities often have vast amounts of legacy and siloed data, buried deep within bureaucracies or on old servers. For example, a city might have purchased a traffic sensor ten years ago with its own software, followed by others with their own software. We bring all of this data together onto a single user-friendly platform, unlock it, and enable it to communicate with each other.

Let's talk figures: what's the impact of Mobilize? The scope? 

Ken Casier: We developed Mobilize in 2022 and started introducing it to the Flemish market in 2023. Today, some 40 municipalities are using Mobilize, representing 10% of the local Flemish market and impacting over 1 million Flemish citizens. More than 1,000 scenarios have been calculated, with over 5,000 sensors onboarded, and this number will continue to grow. 

"More than 1,000 scenarios have been calculated, with over 5,000 sensors onboarded, and this number will continue to grow."

In terms of impact, there's the crucial reduction in carbon footprint through optimized traffic flow. Additionally, Mobilize's sustainability is evident in its SaaS setup hosted on Microsoft Azure cloud. As you know, both Microsoft and Cegeka aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Not to forget the human impact.  

Ken Casier: Absolutely. Mobilize aims to create a smoother, more efficient, and less disruptive traffic flow for citizens. By reducing congestion, emissions, and unnecessary inconvenience, we're working towards a cleaner, more livable urban environment.

The ability to create scenarios based on resident feedback is particularly valuable in today's era of citizen engagement. This empowers local governments to make data-driven decisions that better serve the needs of their communities.

"The ability to create scenarios based on resident feedback is particularly valuable in today's era of citizen engagement."

Can you share a specific example? 

Ken Casier: Bruges was facing issues with cut-through traffic in certain areas. This caused congestion, and nuisance for locals, who complained.  With Mobilize, officials were able to simulate different traffic management strategies on the spot and identify the most effective one. But there’s more: they used Mobilize data output as input for a tool by VITO that measures air quality. So they got the best solution in terms of impact on traffic and air quality. 

Cegeka places great importance on apps that are easy to use. How is that the case for Mobilize? 

Ken Casier: Mobilize is designed with a strong focus on user experience (UX). Civil servants often juggle multiple responsibilities, with limited time for each domain. They might only use the tool weekly or monthly for a specific area. Therefore, the solution needed to be highly intuitive to avoid wasting time on figuring out how things work. It's easy to use, and the color palette is designed to accommodate color-blind users.

As Mobilize continues to evolve, what are your plans for future development and expansion? 

Ken Casier: We are constantly exploring ways to enhance Mobilize's capabilities. This includes integrating with additional data sources, expanding our geographic reach, and developing new features to support a wider range of transportation challenges. We are also committed to fostering collaboration between cities and sharing best practices to accelerate the adoption of data-driven urban planning.