Pitch
Bonzer provides a clean mobility alternative to support a reduction of 80% GHG emissions target by 2050 because of urban population growth
Description
Summary
By 2050, 70% of the US population will be living within urban areas, which will require an 80% reduction target in US GHG emissions. As of now, two options can be considered:
- By transforming the existing fixed assets and infrastructure, or
- By developing a new mobility paradigm
While the first option is very capital intensive, and as future CapEx investments in infrastructure by governments or institutions will not likely be sufficient to solely address this complex challenge, Bonzer will focus on the second option by providing a new mobility paradigm.
As a critical example of infrastructure constraints, it has become an increasingly challenging issue to find a parking spot in major big cities as well as in private campuses. While traffic on main roads of a city such as Paris has decreased by 25% over the past 10 years, this still represents millions vehicles circulating in the city each day. It is estimated that only 30% of Parisians have a car, against close 70% of people in the suburbs of Paris.
Bonzer car sharing solution aims to provide a smart and clean mobility alternative to current dense urban areas, by leveraging the Sharing Economy model:
- By reducing carbon footprint, noise and C02 emission with a use of 100% EVs
- By making excess capacity more efficient through car sharing thus reducing vehicle usage and traffic congestion globally by a 10x to 30x
- By increasing parking capacity to 300% with smaller cars, as 3 mini EVs fit in a one regular parking space
The objective for the MIT campus initiative is to provide a very affordable and clean approach to commuting in and beyond the MIT campus. The vehicles, along with some fixed parking spots located throughout campus, will provide a dense and accessible network to all MIT affiliates. It is an easy, fast deployment, and clean alternative method to commuting across the MIT campus and beyond.
What actions do you propose?
It is already known in the market that car sharing helps reduce the number of regular cars on street. Besides reducing of the pollution through the decrease of fossil fuel based vehicles making the fleet 100% electric, we can leverage the reduction of carbon emission.
In addition to these facts, with a better redistribution car process through dynamic algorithms pricing, we can incentive users with free rides to drive the vehicle to certain spots. With a better car distribution in the network, there would be the need of fewer cars comparing to the traditional car sharing model and increase of car usage.
Therefore, a one way trip electric car sharing with better car redistribution process in the network would create a direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions on MIT campus.
How to implement?
- We have some cars ready to launch a pilot on campus for this summer
- MIT to provide some parking spaces
- MIT community enjoys the clean rides on campus and participate to the GHG reduction
Who will take these actions?
Bonzer Inc.
Bonzer Inc., a MIT spinoff, is a new and clean mobility operator, formed by MIT Sloan Alumni. Bonzer Inc. can provide a subscription for a 6-month period pilot test on campus starting this summer 2016. We provide a full turnkey solution ranging from subscription to payment . We provide the mini-electric vehicles (EVs), the integration with the technology (software/hardware), and the pilot is also part of a research interest from the ISS department by looking at ways to optimize networks. The data collected from the pilot will also be used for research purposes.
MIT facilities
MIT to provide free outdoor parking spaces (10 spots planned across campus), free access to recharging facilities overnight, and two indoor parking spaces as a backup for safety purposes in case of inclement weather conditions (snow, rain) or to support maintenance/stand-by activities.
End-users
The MIT community and everyone who is on campus (i.e. students, faculty, staff, and visitors) can use and enjoy the convenience and easiness of the service. We offer a solution that works for everyone who is has a valid driving license.
How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?
100% CO2 emission free what ever the scale is. Easily scalable on demand.
What are other key benefits?
The value proposition of our service is:
- Car sharing will reduce the number of car on the road by 15x, and reduce traffic congestion. This will have a positive impact for environment and society.
- Parking lot pre-booked at the final destination will eliminate by 100% the time spent searching for a parking spot. On average, 40% of gas tank is spent while searching for a parking spot. This will also have a positive impact for environment and society.
- Cost savings – Ride cost for user is on average 50% cheaper than current alternatives.
- Mini-size car will increase parking capacity by 200% as you can fit three cars into one regular parking spot. This will increase parking supply without additional CapEx spending and efficient usage of space.
- The BEVs fleet will reduce noise and CO2 emission by 100%, increase air quality in cities where the population density is at its highest. This will have a very positive impact for environment and society.
What are the proposal’s costs?
For the 6-month period of the pilot, we propose the following budget break-down to MIT:
- Few car fleet deployment at zero cost, free of charge.
- MIT to provide 10 parking spots across campus, plus parking and access to charging facilities over night (when parking is empty), plus vertical and horizontal signboards. This will have no friction with the current MIT parking management and revenue stream. Indoor parking will be available for safety in case of snow storm or rain.
- Bonzer will operate the pilot at its own cost.
- Service will be at $0.30 cents per minute.
- Revenue during the pilot will be shared with MIT community.
Time line
2016: small pilot on campus
The real scale pilot can start straight this summer 2016 with 5 cars during a 6-month period. The fleet can increase gradually over time depending on the demand in order to reach the critical volume point for which the system can balance itself.
2017: scale up to 300 vehicles on campus
- Optimize the number and parking spot locations based on the outcome of the small pilot.
- Partnership with MBTA and existing transportation networks help connect users to subway stations in order to incentive public transportation and avoid usage of cars in highly demographic concentrated areas.
- Partnership with HBS in order to propose an easy way to commute between both institutes for cross-registration courses.
2018-2020
- Develop multi-products and other services to increase convenience a price reduction to users such as ride sharing, deliver on demand etc.
- Optimize and customize the service based on the feedback and data collected
Related proposals
n/a
References
In a past project, we developed a vehicle routing software that considers energy consumption and charging time in order to ensure the usage of an electric vehicle beyond its embedded autonomy by selecting the best routes to reach the destination with minimal time and/or cost. It allows the vehicle driver to easily determine, taking into account the current battery level, at least one path connecting the current location of the vehicle (A) to the destination (B), the transit time, and the cost. To do this, the driver shall first submit a mission by designating a destination (B) using a Human Machine Interface (HMI), which can be integrated permanently in the dashboard or can be mobile through a wireless link like a smart-phone. The energy consumption module then retrieves information about the current location (A), the current battery level, and energy required for a trip from A to B. The path calculation module retrieves all the parameters needed for the mission: the coordinates of stations on paths between A and B, weather and traffic conditions on these paths, etc. This module calculates the conditions for success of the mission taking into account the battery level throughout the trip, the time required to achieve the mission, and the cost depending on the eventual choice by the driver. If the mission cannot be achieved without steps, this module provides a map of charging stations on the best route(s) with additional information of a particular energy supplier such as tariffs.
By:
Bonzer
