Skip to main content

Grenoble smart city project to launch in October

Urban transport of the future will become a reality in October in the French city of Grenoble thanks to a partnership between the City and the Metropolitan Area of Grenoble, French energy company EDF, Japanese car maker Toyota and Citélib, a local car-sharing operator. Toyota is contributing 70 of its i-Road and Coms ultra-compact personal mobility electric vehicles to a three-year integrated electric vehicle (EV) car sharing and public transport test project that is being launched in Grenoble, France in
July 2, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Urban transport of the future will become a reality in October in the French city of Grenoble thanks to a partnership between the City and the Metropolitan Area of Grenoble, French energy company EDF, Japanese car maker 1686 Toyota and Citélib, a local car-sharing operator.

Toyota is contributing 70 of its i-Road and Coms ultra-compact personal mobility electric vehicles to a three-year integrated electric vehicle (EV) car sharing and public transport test project that is being launched in Grenoble, France in the autumn.

Connected to the public transport system's IT infrastructure, this new car-sharing scheme will complement Citélib by allowing users to pick up one of the small EVs at one location and drop it off at another. The project also aims to promote interconnectivity of public transport methods (trams, buses, trains) and a new type of personal mobility using small vehicles that take up less space than a normal car.

Vehicles can be charged at around 30 charging stations managed by Sodetrel (EDF Group) and located close to public transport stops

The project partners say they are offering Grenoble an innovative service which will allow a real-life, thorough evaluation of the potential of this new form of mobility. “The Grenoble-Alpes Métropole community has always been open to innovation,” explains Christophe 5343 Ferrari, President of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole. “The partnership itself, between us, Toyota, EDF and Citélib is in and of itself also an innovation in France,” he added.  “It's a great opportunity for our community to test, for three years and exclusively in Europe, a new mode of mobility that's not only innovative but also economic and ecological. It’s an experiment that is bound to be followed by others for the benefit of our citizens.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Xerox considers smarter city solutions
    October 14, 2016
    Richard Harris from Xerox considers how to alleviate inner-city traffic congestion. Whether travelling for business or leisure, wasting unnecessary time during your journey is a common source of frustration. From dealing with congestion, hold-ups caused by broken down vehicles or crashes to roadworks and other types of delay, wasting time is almost guaranteed to make most people experience additional stress before they even get to where they want to go.
  • ABB launches 450kW fast chargers for electric buses, Gothernburg
    November 23, 2017
    ABB has launched a project with Volvo Buses, Västtrafik and Göteborg Energi (GE) to supply two of its 450kW Opportunity Charging systems to charge two high capacity electric-articulated Volvo buses in Gothenburg, Sweden. These fast chargers will be installed at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Eriksberg Square, on line 16 of the City’s bus network. The order comes after a successful two-year trial under the ElectriCity venture, during which 10 all-electric or partially electrified buses have run on the
  • Debating road user charging systems
    January 26, 2012
    Are pre-launch trials of charging systems the way to improve public acceptance? Or is the real key a more robust political attitude? Here, leading system suppliers discuss the issue. The use of distance-based Road User Charging (RUC) is now well established, at least for heavy goods vehicles on strategic roads. However demand management for all vehicles, whether a distance-based charge or some form of cordon scheme, has yet to make significant progress. This is in spite of the logic and equity of RUC being
  • Grab enters smart city agreement with Sinar Mas Land in Indonesia
    March 12, 2019
    Grab has partnered in Indonesia with property developer Sinar Mas Land to strengthen BSD (Bumi Serpong Damai) City’s position as an integrated smart digital city. BSD City is an urban planning scheme which combines housing, business and commercial property over approximately 6,000 hectares. Grab is to provide smart mobility solutions, support small and medium enterprises and encourage technological development. Michael Widjaja, group CEO of Sinar Mas Land, says the company is developing an integr