Smart rural transport services
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Region Västerbotten - Glesbygdsmedicinskt Centrum |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 025 825 |
| Project duration | May 2020 - March 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Strategic Innovation Program Drive Sweden |
| Call | Innovations for a digitalized and automated transport system for people and goods |
Purpose and goal
This project has built a network and an innovation platform focused on rural transportation, a future autonomous and electric transportation system. Project participants have developed a better understanding of their current and future transportation needs and developed designs for rural transportation services. The project has been a success except for the ambition to refocus the Swedish innovation system towards rural transportation, to better reflect where emissions take place and where the societal needs are.
Expected results and effects
The core of the project is the network created. New collaborations have emerged and staff have also moved within the network. The project has led to new initiatives among project partners, and also helped to highlight the importance of transportation outside urban areas. Not least, the project has shared the insight that the future is possible now. The metropolitan traffic environments are too complex for today´s autonomous technology, but the rural simpler road network, sparser traffic and more tolerant road users mean that an autonomous transport system could be launched now.
Planned approach and implementation
The project grew quickly in three dimensions. The scope was broadened to include areas related to transport, such as Sweden’s food supply, resilience to natural disasters and cyber security, to reflect the needs and interests of the project’s participants. The network expanded rapidly as many parties wanted to discuss and develop rural transport. Finally, the project grew from a dedicated innovation platform towards both policy making and opening dialogues with citizens, including instituting a yearly public event.