Mobility and the Smart City: roles of public and private players

After being deployed in production and management systems, digital technology now reaches citizens through numerous everyday applications, and is a source of numerous services.

In the transport sector, digital technology is playing, and will continue to play, a fundamental role, with the multiplication and improvement of available mobility data, and the gains made in information processing tools.

Particularly in the urban environment, where most mobility problems and their consequences are concentrated, digital mobility tools - – also known as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), intelligence being taken in the sense of the word "information" – - are particularly effective in meeting the needs of local authorities and residents, and enabling digital companies to enjoy strong growth.

The Smart City concept, which is now mainly reflected in research and development projects, is part of this approach. The high level of communication around this concept simply reflects the importance of current and future investments and the major role that digital technology will play in the city of tomorrow.

Beyond the technical tools, the technological discourse on Smart Cities, and their application in digital mobility, the challenge for political decision-makers is to enable cities to develop while reducing current pollution and ensuring the overall efficiency of the urban mobility system.

To achieve this, it is necessary to take into account the three key players in the urban system:

• local authorities and their urban mobility policy ;

• citizens and businesses and their mobility needs;

• companies that develop and operate digital mobility tools.

Following a review of the historical context of the urban mobility system and the challenges facing European metropolises, this article puts into perspective the roles of urban mobility players, focusing on three main functions: regulation of different types of traffic, user information and urban freight management. Based on the specific features of the mobility information chain, it then proposes a breakdown of the roles of the various players in urban traveller information, and the areas of work on which European metropolises should focus in order to bring about sustainable mobility, making full use of the potential of digital mobility and ITS tools.