MAKING SUSTAINABLE MODES OF TRANSPORT COMPETITIVE AND CREATING INNOVATIVE MOBILITY SOLUTIONS IN HELSINKI AIRPORT – AVIAPOLIS AIRPORT CITY
How can we improve smart mobility in industrial and business areas?
In Aviapolis area people work 24/7 and its hard to commute early mornings and late evenings because the public transport does not run flexible. There should be found solutions to an alternative commuting such as shuttle buses or ride sharing.
Problem roots: Developing area causes challenges to commuting and public transport services. Infrastructure is being built and services are under development at the same time when the companies are already running their business operations. This makes recruiting difficult for companies based in the area, because the accessibility for workforce is challenging.
Main obstacles: An attitude problem towards an alternative commuting methods versus riding with own car is an obstacle. Especially winter conditions (snow, cold weather, maintenance) have been found challenging.
The city is facing obstacles in the area of resourcing and sharing responsibilities. On the other hand, the city has its obligations to build and maintain infrastructure, on the other hand companies could also take some of the burden in developing the area and cooperating for the common good.
In building a new area, it’s important to take continuity into consideration. City-run projects must consider the future of the developed solutions and experiments. How to make different stakeholders to commit to development work after the city-run activities and funding ends?
Existing solutions:
- Aviapolis City project (ended)
- Aviapolis Traffic Lab (ended)
- Last Mile experiments (ongoing) The Last Mile project improves transport experiences in the Helsinki region through the utilisation of smart mobility services. The project aims at developing sustainable mobility service concepts for the needs of residents, commuters, employers and tourism companies. The market-driven services created in the project will complement the current transport system. The lead partner of the project is the City of Vantaa.
- City Bikes by city of Vantaa (trial period in summer 2019, contract period until 2022)
What would happen if the problem is solved?
Connectivity with all transport modes and transportation access are the key factors for functional airport city. Aviapolis next to Helsinki Airport is located at the junction of international, national and local traffic flows – the international airport, the railway connection and the main roads make the area easily accessible. The vision for Aviapolis is to be a lucrative and sustainable city of opportunities – an airport city that is active 24 hours a day. In the future Aviapolis will offer the best connectivity, also in human-sized scale, a desirable location where people come from near and far. Walkable airport city with easy connections will treat travelers and residents with attractive and the safe public spaces.
