Peter Vanham, US Media Lead, World Economic Forum, Tel.: +1 646 592 5907, peter.vanham@weforum.org
· The World Economic Forum in partnership with Deloitte will collaborate with Detroit, and Ann Arbor in the US and Windsor in Canada to pilot the principles of a seamless integrated mobility system to improve the lives of the region’s citizens
· The Forum will provide a global platform to Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor as they implement transport initiatives aimed at issues of affordability, economic growth, efficiency, and innovation and sustainability across the region
· Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor were selected as the primary partner following a call for applications in April 2018; other applicants will continue participating with the Forum via virtual knowledge exchanges and workshops
New York, USA, 28 June 2018 – The World Economic Forum in partnership with Deloitte announced today a collaboration with the cities of Detroit and Ann Arbor in Michigan, USA, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, to pilot seamless integrated mobility solutions in the region. Following a call for applications in April 2018, the three cities were selected as the primary partner out of 13 applicants from across the globe to participate in a year-long engagement. To support the innovation led by the SIMSystem partner geography, the Forum will build a community of public- and private-sector leaders to interact and exchange leading practices via a digital collaboration tool and a series of workshops.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor – a corridor so deeply connected to the history of 20th-century mobility and commerce,” said Christoph Wolff, Head of the Mobility Industries and System Initiative and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum. “Each city is taking big steps to improve its community’s livability through transportation: Detroit is investing in its public transit by increasing routes and service times; Ann Arbor is fostering what will be the world’s largest real-world deployment of connected vehicles and connected infrastructure; and Windsor is developing an active transportation master plan with focus on multi-modal transportation. As SIMSystem partners, the regional sister cities will cohesively embrace the integration and innovation possibilities of 21st-century mobility,” he added.
The pilot, part of the Forum’s SIMSystem: Designing Seamless Integrated Mobility project, is the continuation of a year-long dialogue between leading private- and public-sector partners. In January 2018, the project launched the SIMSystem Manifesto proposing 10 principles for public-private collaboration. The SIMSystem Manifesto also examines how mobility providers and their regulators can integrate multiple transport modes into a seamless integrated mobility system, or SIMSystem. A SIMSystem will connect city buses, ride shares and autonomous vehicles to enhance the overall efficiency of the transport network and enable faster, safer, cleaner and more affordable mobility of people and goods.
To demonstrate the principles of the SIMSystem Manifesto, the Forum called on government leaders to improve people-and-goods mobility and launched a request for proposals in April 2018.The 13 applications – representing cities, groups of cities, regions and nations from 10 countries – were reviewed by the SIMSystem Working Group during a workshop in New York in May.
“The pool of applicants was very competitive and diverse, from small to large geographies, all in very varied states of development. They demonstrate how rapidly the future of mobility is evolving globally,” said Scott Corwin, Managing Director and Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Future of Mobility Practice Leader, Deloitte, USA. “The application from Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor was well received by the working group for the strong collective leadership commitment to generate measurable progress and create a global showcase for demonstrating the far-reaching impact a SIMSystem can have on the movement of people and goods.” He added: “The Deloitte Future of Mobility team supporting the Forum and Deloitte’s Detroit office working closely with leaders in Michigan are excited about what lies ahead.”
Partners from the region say they look forward to applying the SIMSystem principles to their ongoing efforts.
“Making it easier to get around will not just improve the quality of life for our residents, but also tremendously accelerate the economic growth that our city and region are currently experiencing,” said Mike Duggan, Mayor of Detroit. “We are excited to work with our partners and the experts from the World Economic Forum to better leverage the investments we are making in all aspects of mobility.”
“The City of Ann Arbor attracts an increasing number of residents and businesses. However, we are constrained to accommodate growth and deliver an exceptional mobility experience due to parking and congestion issues. The city is also trying to find ways to best address the mobility and accessibility needs of its vulnerable populations such as senior citizens,” said Ann Arbor’s Mayor Christopher M. Taylor. “Ann Arbor is an ideal environment to test the key principles of a SIMSystem. The city includes a diverse set of transportation modes, a highly progressive community, one of the top research universities in the world, and a heritage of transportation innovation.”
“In collaboration with our United States colleagues in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, we see a significant opportunity to enhance transportation integration and better connect the region to promote economic growth and enhance quality of life,” said Drew Dilkens, Mayor of Windsor, Canada. “With its history of cross-border trade and collaboration, the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Windsor region is uniquely positioned to lead the world in developing the next-generation mobility system.”
Throughout 2018, the geographies will collaborate to address significant mobility challenges such as the lack of connectivity between transport modes, increased congestion and evolving mobility needs of underserved populations. Some residents are without reliable transport to jobs or are unable to take advantage of new mobility options due to a lack of access to reliable internet. As the cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor build regional cohesion to tackle their mobility opportunities, the World Economic Forum will provide support through several design workshops that will connect the cities to the SIMSystem Working Group. The SIMSystem Working Group comprises senior executives from diverse industries (such as automotive, supply chain, mobility-on-demand and technology), academics and government officials.
Insights from this pilot will be documented throughout the year and shared publicly so all cities can learn from the experiences of Detroit, Ann Arbor and Windsor and apply practices to their own municipality.
Read the white paper on designing a SIMSystem here
More information on the Forum’s SIMSystem: Designing Seamless Integrated Mobility project here
Notes to Editors
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