Published on 8 May 2023

Shared mobility gaining momentum

If two or more people share the use of a vehicle, this reduces energy consumption. By coordinating data, the «sharedmobility.ch» project initiated by EnergieSchweiz simplifies car, bike and e-scooter sharing. swisstopo’s maps platform makes it easier for users to find available vehicles.

Sharing means saving. This applies especially to the use of resources. In Switzerland, road traffic accounts for around a third of the overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions. If vehicles are shared by two or more people, energy consumption can be reduced. The “sharedmobility.ch” project was initiated by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) on the basis of this concept with the aim of promoting efficient forms of mobility. “One car-sharing vehicle can replace up to ten cars”, explains Nico Rohrbach, project manager at the SFOE. A total of 15 car-sharing companies have signed up to the project in order to improve the visibility and availability of the service. The motto here is “sharing instead of owning”.

All vehicles at a glance

It is now easy for anyone wishing to use a motor vehicle or electric car, a bike or e-bike, an e-scooter, an e-cargo bike or an e-moped, to do so: the sharedmobility.ch website contains a direct link to swisstopo’s maps platform, map.geo.admin.ch. The map depicts every location and every available vehicle in Switzerland. The data is updated at one-second intervals. The sharedmobility.ch website illustrates the benefits of the digital transformation in an exemplary manner. Its development was based not only on successful cooperation, but also on innovation. A variety of hurdles had to be overcome: «The various providers initially delivered their data in differing template formats and structures,» says Nico Rohrbach. This meant that people wishing to use the data had to apply to the respective provider for access. In view of this, the various providers had to find a suitable way of overcoming this challenge.

One interface for everyone

But now, the data from around 40 interfaces is converted into a standardised format, thus creating a single standardised dataset that simplifies access for all users. At the same time, the requirements were met for making all the available vehicles visible in real time on map.geo.admin.ch. “Right from the start our aim was to network with the swisstopo platform,” explains Nico Rohrbach. And the Federal Office of Topography now offers its services as the official geodata partner at the federal level.
The standardised sharedmobility.ch data can also be used by other players free of charge, for example mobility providers who want to develop apps. Some companies have already made use of this option and used the data in programming of the “öV Plus” (Public Transport Plus) app. This is in keeping with the goals of sharedmobility.ch: with its open data philosophy, the management wants to support new business models and promote shared mobility.

As Nico Rohrbach points out, he has to deal with a "highly volatile sector", in which "some providers disappear and others suddenly appear or become involved in mergers". He keeps a close eye on these developments in order to bring as many players on board as possible. “The goal is to make mobility sharing easy for everyone.” The sharedmobility.ch website is experiencing a surge in demand, and the number of users is constantly increasing. The long-term goal is to make mobility sharing even more attractive: thanks to technological developments there is now greater potential for optimisation. In the meantime, it is possible to locate all available vehicles on the map presented on the map.geo.admin.ch website, but in order to hire a vehicle, users still have to arrange the transaction using the respective provider’s app. In the future, however, the aim is for the entire process – from vehicle search through to rental – to be affected quickly and conveniently via a single platform. The benefits of this are clear: the easier vehicle sharing becomes, the greater the savings in resources.

Geodata for the whole of Switzerland

With their Geodata Strategy for Switzerland, the Federal Council and the cantons have created the basis for securing access to reliable, detailed and up-to-date geodata. swisstopo is coordinating the nationwide standardisation of the data and placing this at everyone’s disposal free of charge. The map.geo.admin.ch platform contains data relating to more than 800 spatially referenced topics, including wildlife conservation zones, hiking route closures and shared mobility services. The geodata can be used for the development of apps, for example by Schweiz Mobil, SAC (Swiss Alpine Club) and the air rescue service, REGA.

Further information

Federal Office of Topography swisstopo