"Shared Services in Urban Mobility" seminar in Valmiera

The SPOTLOG seminar titled "Shared Services in Urban Mobility" convened 25 stakeholders, including professionals engaged in transportation planning within public administration. The seminar aimed to broaden perspectives on the development of shared services in Latvia. Attendees included specialists from Vidzeme municipalities, the Vidzeme Planning Region, and other organizations across Latvia.

Alīna Safronova, a researcher in sustainable transport from Riga Technical University, addressed current issues in the transport sector. She highlighted that the transport sector is a major emitter, with private vehicles comprising 85% of all transportation modes. Data analysis indicates an increase in emissions in Latvia, which, after a decline during the COVID pandemic, has now returned to 2019 levels.

Safronova proposed three approaches to address these issues: reducing the need for travel, changing driving habits, and improving vehicles to make them more environmentally friendly. She also noted the potential of electric vehicles but cautioned about high purchase costs and potential infrastructure and grid overload challenges as electric vehicle adoption increases.

Safronova further identified a critical issue in the transport sector: the focus on efficiency and economic benefits often overlooks social inclusion and equitable access to services for all community groups and locations.

Valts Marga, a representative from Bolt, shared insights on the company's experience and data collection. With the growing use of shared vehicles in cities, Bolt has amassed extensive data on citizens' micromobility activities, needs, and habits. Participants emphasized the importance of collaboration between businesses and municipalities in sharing and utilizing data. It was reaffirmed that mobility solutions require the establishment of appropriate infrastructure first. Marga also highlighted the need for stronger cooperation between micromobility service providers and government authorities to foster the development of innovative solutions.

Another compelling presentation addressed the challenges in the food supply chain. Rolands Dzenis from izipizi.lv discussed the development of food lockers in Latvia. The concept involves creating lockers where food products can be delivered directly from producers to consumers, stored at appropriate temperatures. The platform offers food producers the opportunity to engage in developing the food supply infrastructure while encouraging community involvement in service provision, known in the transport sector as crowd logistics.

The IziPizi delivery platform rapidly expands across Latvia, garnering interest from Vidzeme municipalities. Such solutions represent a significant advancement not only in transport logistics but also in the growth of the business sector.

The stakeholders' meeting was successful, and participants expressed a strong interest in joining future meetings, recognizing the relevance of the topic and the high value of the knowledge gained.