The future of urban transport
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Contents Background 4 Project 6 Partners: 7 Addison Lee 8 Ford 8 DG Cities 9 TRL 9 Transport Systems Catapult 10 Immense Simulations 10 FAQs 12 2
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Background MERGE Greenwich is a groundbreaking project which aims to re-think urban transport. With the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles and the development of ride-sharing services, there is now an opportunity to radically improve the way we travel around cities. MERGE Greenwich will simulate how an autonomous vehicle ridesharing service could be integrated with public transport systems. This project can provide the first fundamental step towards mass roll out of AVs and help reinforce the UK s position as a leader in global mobility innovation. The consortium, led by global mobility services operator, Addison Lee, includes Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, Immense Simulations and DG Cities. Jointly funded by the government and industry, the 1m project will spend 12 months developing a blueprint for autonomous vehicle (AV) ride-sharing which complements the existing transport network. 4
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Project The way we travel is changing. Our priorities and needs are expanding rapidly, and it is crucial that technology keeps up to meet our demands while ensuring public transport is environmentally friendly. Based at the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London, the 12-month MERGE Greenwich project will use the Royal Borough of Greenwich to simulate how an autonomous vehicle ridesharing service could deliver commercially viable services that complement and enhance existing transport solutions. The consortium will investigate ways to improve travel around cities, reduce total vehicle journeys and emissions by using innovative developments in electric and autonomous vehicles. The project will focus on the social, commercial and infrastructural challenges posed by AVs, and will consider the safety, accessibility, environmental and ride-sharing factors of autonomous public transport. The project will deliver a comprehensive simulation showing how AV ride-sharing can be integrated into the transport system alongside detailed analysis of the benefits to communities and the environment through reduced emissions and journey times. An overall business model will also be published, including vehicle requirements and possible barriers to adoption. From this, realworld AV ride-sharing testing could be carried out which will provide the crucial next step towards a mass roll out out of AVs. 6
Partners The MERGE project is run by a consortium comprising six organisations with significant and complementary transportation expertise. Led by Addison Lee, partners include Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, Immense Simulations and DG Cities Ltd (part of the Royal London Borough of Greenwich). 7
Addison Lee The global leader in premium mobility, carrying 10 million passengers each year, covering 200 million miles across 83 countries, operating a fleet of 5,500 vehicles. Addison Lee is proud to be leading the MERGE project. The organisation brings a wealth of real world commercial knowledge of operating a large fleet on a global scale, which enables the MERGE project to accelerate the validation of the AV ride-sharing model beyond any previous project. Ford Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com. Ford is proud to be a participant in the MERGE Greenwich project and brings to the consortium expertise to develop vehicle requirements fit for purpose in an AV ride-sharing model. 8
DG Cities DG Cities is a commercial subsidiary of the Royal Greenwich was one of the first to realise that the challenges cities face - traffic, congestion and environmental pollution cannot be solved through traditional methods alone. Greenwich instead realised that making use of new technologies and digital services are essential to cope with the challenges ahead. The MERGE Greenwich project will benefit enormously from DG Cities work to understand how AV ride-sharing should be deployed within diverse and complex urban environments to maximise the benefits for cities and their residents. They will lead on work to ensure that the business model is compatible with the needs of the Borough. TRL TRL is the global centre for innovation in transport and mobility. It provides world-leading research, technology and software solutions for surface transport modes and related markets of automotive, motorsport, insurance and energy. 9 For the MERGE project, TRL will leverage its significant mobility expertise form the Greenwich based Smart Mobility Living Lab: London and numerous related projects, including GATEway to further analyse and develop the business case for autonomous ride-sharing.
Transport Systems Catapult The Transport Systems Catapult is the UK s technology and innovation centre for intelligent mobility. The organisation has a strong team of experts from across transportation and related fields, which are focussed on promoting sustained economic growth and well-being through integrated, efficient and sustainable transport systems. The MERGE Greenwich project will benefit from the Transport Systems Catapult s extensive modelling experience and data relating to ridesharing and AVs. Professionals within the Modelling and Visualisation team will develop a base model for the study area and test the city compatibility of the proposed ride-share concepts as well as the integration with public transport. Immense Enabling Intelligent Mobility Immense Simulations From a holistic understanding of the behaviour of transport networks, Immense Simulations have created the first of a new generation of large-scale transport mobility simulators. Immense s persistent and predictive simulations deliver detailed and accurate pictures of the city-wide transport eco-system across multiple time horizons. Whilst these simulations are inherently complex, Immense have developed intuitive and accessible tools to facilitate enhanced strategic and operational decision-making across organisations. Immense will enable the consortium to test and assess the commercial viability of multiple strategies using their city-wide ride share simulations leading to optimum real world performance. 10
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FAQs What does MERGE stand for? What does MERGE stand for? MERGE defines how privately driven autonomous ride-sharing models can interact with public transport systems. By fitting autonomous vehicles into a broader transport network, we have an opportunity to improve people s lives by enhancing transport provision to make it even more accessible and convenient for all. What is the MERGE Greenwich project going to achieve? The MERGE project will develop the blueprint for a scalable commercial pilot for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service which is integrated with public transport systems. Develop a plan on how autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing will integrate into public transport systems, focussed on the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Carry out advanced simulation and analysis to demonstrate how this integrated solution can benefit consumers, society and the environment. Generate ideas on how to improve the efficiency of the way we travel around cities and how to reduce congestion and emissions. Establish requirements for a vehicle which would integrate optimally into this mobility solution. Review customer barriers to the adoption of such a service and design considerations to overcome them. Write a detailed commercial and business model. 12
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Where is the project taking place? The MERGE project will be based at the Smart Mobility Living Lab : London in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London. Located in the heart of London, Greenwich is one of the UK s leading smart cities and a global reference point for mobility innovation. Who is leading the project? The MERGE project is led by the global mobility operator, Addison Lee, which has been leading in mobility innovation for over 40 years. As well as overseeing the project as a whole, Addison Lee is leading the work package which focusses on business and operating model development. Which organisations form the MERGE Greenwich consortium? In addition to Addison Lee, the MERGE consortium members are Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, DG Cities and Immense Simulations. Find out more about the roles each consortium member is playing on our Partners page. How is the MERGE Greenwich project funded? The total value of the MERGE project is just under 1 million and is co-funded by industry and government. Innovate UK has awarded 736,000 to the consortium and the remaining costs are being met by the consortium members, mainly Addison Lee. How will the MERGE Greenwich project develop results? The MERGE consortium will pool data relating to all aspects of an AV ride-sharing system which integrates with public transport. This includes vehicle requirements, traffic management, passenger journeys, customer decision criteria, policies etc. This data will be modelled by Transport Systems Catapult, which will be developed 14
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further by Immense Simulations, who will carry out an advanced simulation. This simulation will indicate how the integrated ridesharing model could work in a real-world environment and how it could be optimised to ensure it is commercially viable and able to meet consumer needs. When will the MERGE Greenwich project take place? The MERGE project began on 1st July 2017 and will be carried out over 12 months. How will the MERGE Greenwich project benefit the UK? MERGE will develop a world first: a custom-designed blueprint which showcases the UK s cutting-edge mobility capability. By reinforcing the UK s position as a global leader in this field, the country can attract further research and development investment, leading to new jobs, opportunities, and economic growth. With some of the brightest British automotive and ground transport minds involved, the MERGE partnership will continue to help pave the way for autonomous vehicles on the streets of London at scale, and provide significantly improved transport. This will put the UK at the forefront of global mobility development. How will the MERGE Greenwich project benefit the consumer? With the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles, there is now an opportunity to redefine transport in our cities and towns. Offering modern, flexible and responsive mobility services that can be shared by the public is likely to reduce the cost to the consumer, reduce the number of journeys and vehicles on our roads helping the environment and improving road safety. 16
MERGE Greenwich consortium partners Immense Enabling Intelligent Mobility
To find out more please visit mergegreenwich.com or email merge@addisonlee.com