New HiReach project addresses innovative mobility solutions to cope with transport poverty

HiReach, funded under Horizon 2020 EU Programme, focuses on the development of new tools and business models to improve accessibility for difficult to reach areas - encouraging inclusive and participative mobility - and deal with the needs of potentially vulnerable social groups. The latter category within HiReach include children and young people with disabilities, low income and unemployed persons, elderly, migrants, people living in rural and deprived areas as well as other vulnerable to exclusion citizens.

By combining different attributes of available transport concepts and bottom-up initiatives with new operational schemes and IT applications, HiReach will explore viable business models for small scale, modular and easily replicable mobility services (e.g. community transport services, ridesharing, minibus pooling, etc.) that can be provided at affordable prices and/or with minimum subsidies. In addition, HiReach will:

• foster social innovation processes through an in-depth (micro) analysis of capabilities/attitudes of different social groups and their direct involvement as co-users and co-owners of the proposed solutions;
• explore and test new solutions based on the creative work of start-ups and innovative entrepreneurs;
• provide open source tools, guidance and support to developers as well as testbeds for new inclusive mobility solutions

Six study regions have been selected aiming to provide an in-depth understanding of transport and accessibility problems experienced in different countries, both at urban and rural levels. They are located in counties of Esslingen and Göppingen (Germany), Naxos and Small Cyclades (Greece), Southern Salento (Italy), Guarda and Torres Vedras (Portugal), North and South-East Luxembourg, Buzau (Romania).

Links

HiReach is funded under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme.

Find here the HIReach website.

HiReach sent out its first newsletter this month.

Topic: 

Transport for people with reduced mobility

Link: 

HiReach project