A New way to move around the city | Vivekanada Hallekere | TEDxBMSITM
Shared mobility is crucial for developing global cities, particularly in highly dense regions like India, because unchecked personal vehicle ownership leads to space crises and urban collapse. The speaker, associated with Bounce, argues that mobility must be seen as a fundamental right, citing Bangalore's growth model as proof that localized, accessible, and networked sharing is the necessary innovation. This effort requires building both "asset safety" and "trust," ultimately proving that a single scooter can serve up to 20 users, thus solving a fundamental problem of human movement. ## Speakers & Context - Presenter associated with **Bounce**. - Setting: Event detailing work on shared mobility. - Framing: Belief that shared mobility will save the world and improve global living standards. ## Theses & Positions - Shared mobility is critical for both the economy and the functioning of the modern world. - Mobility must be regarded as a fundamental right, similar to the rights to speak or education. - Congestion cannot be solved by simply building more infrastructure (like metros) because the population is growing. - Owning personal vehicles (two or four-wheelers) is insufficient because it consumes excessive space for parking. - India is innovating on mobility solutions because it avoids "copy-paste solutions" adopted from Western models. - The problem of mobility is inherent and will persist "forever," having started since the invention of the wheel. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Shared mobility**: The core concept; the practice of sharing vehicles (scooters, cars) to enable movement from point A to point B. - **Fundamental right**: Mobility must be recognized as such, citing parallel to rights to speak or education. - **Central business district (CBD)**: A model of city development where people live in suburbs and commute to a central area. - **Massive urbanization**: The process where populations move from smaller towns toward larger cities in search of livelihood. - **Asset safety**: One of three essential elements required for shared mobility to function successfully. - **Trust**: Another crucial element for the adoption of shared mobility services. - **Whole gamut of things**: Shared mobility solutions should encompass more than just scooters or cars. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Western City Model**: Characterized by suburbs where people live and commuting to a CBD. - **Indian Urbanization**: Characterized by massive population influx to service-sector hubs, leading to unpredictable growth patterns. - **Shared Mobility Execution (Bounce)**: Users find a scooter via app $\rightarrow$ Book $\rightarrow$ Gain access via keyless/IoT $\rightarrow$ Ride $\rightarrow$ Park legally $\rightarrow$ Walk. - **Addressing Location Tracking**: Initial issues were solved by asking users to take a photo of the scooter and noting the local landmark for the next user. - **Electric Transition**: The economic model benefits significantly when electric because it removes concerns regarding fuel and servicing. - **Battery Swapping Analogy**: Compares modern needs to India's established, reliable gas distribution network, implying swapping infrastructure is manageable. ## Timeline & Sequence - **Before 2002**: Speaker's recollection of early Bangalore traffic (a single signal from hospital to college). - **2002**: Speaker arrived in Bangalore. - **Last 18 months**: Period during which Bounce began operations in Bangalore. - **Today**: Current status of urban mobility challenges and Bounce's expanded operations. ## Named Entities - **Bounce**: Company presenting findings on shared mobility. - **Bangalore**: Major Indian city, used as a primary case study for rapid, unplanned urbanization. - **Pune**: City in India mentioned as a destination for migration from Bangalore. - **Mumbai**: City used for map analysis demonstrating space constraints. - **Delhi**: City mentioned in the context of pollution levels. - **India**: Country characterized by a population exceeding one billion people and high density. - **United States of America**: Used as a comparative example of a larger, less densely populated nation compared to India. - **Canada**: Country mentioned in the context of where people migrate to work (compared to India). ## Numbers & Data - India population: **More than a billion people**. - US vs. India Area: US is **seven times larger** than India, but with a lower population. - People moved daily by Bangalore BMRCL: **3 million people**. - Total functional buses in Bangalore: **6,500 buses**. - People moved daily by US/Europe public transport: **3 to 5 million people**. - Total right to access mobility: **1.35 billion people**. - Maid relocation distance limitation: Cannot relocate if they must stay within **3 to 4 kilometers** of the employer's residence. - Parking space waste in Mumbai: **20%** of landmass is used for parking. - Population concentration in Mumbai: **52%** of the population lives within **9.25 km** of the landmass. - Two-wheeler market size: Approximated at **150 million** vehicles in India. - Annual two-wheeler addition: **25 million** added annually in India. - Bounce rides in Bangalore (monthly): Close to **three million rides**. - Bounce rides in Bangalore (daily): Approximately **120,000 rides**. ## Examples & Cases - **Western City Model (Seattle)**: People live in suburbs and commute to a CBD, implying a planned, segregated structure. - **Bangalore Development**: Described as "never planned," with initial traffic controlled by only one signal. - **Maid Mobility Case**: Earning potential of a maid is restricted by the proximity of workplaces to her residence, illustrating mobility dependency. - **Mumbai Parking Analysis**: Map showed that the space dedicated to parking (**20%**) was greater than the area supporting the population within a small radius (**52%** living within 9.25 km). - **Pooling Limitation**: A vehicle with three empty seats illustrates wasted capacity. - **Technology Adaptation**: The need to secure scooter location led to non-tech solutions (photo proof + landmark notes) before scaling to reliable tech. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **2-wheelers**: Personal vehicles, dominating the largest market in India. - **4-wheelers**: Personal vehicles. - **Metro**: Mass transit system, sometimes requiring massive, non-scalable infrastructure investment. - **Electric scooters**: Shared mobility vehicle type, built in India starting from March. - **Keyless system**: Vehicle access mechanism utilizing the cell phone for authentication. - **GPS track**: Technology used for location tracking of vehicles. - **App interface**: Used by users to find, book, and gain access to shared vehicles. - **IoT (Internet of Things)**: Technology used to build robust, accessible vehicles. ## References Cited - None. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **CBD Focus vs. Polycentric Growth**: Western model favors CBD; India requires solutions for decentralized, multi-node growth. - **Personal Ownership vs. Sharing**: Ownership (2/4-wheelers) creates severe parking/space issues, whereas sharing maximizes usage. - **Metro vs. Bus Lanes**: Metros require billions in investment and are not suitable for every city size; dedicated bus lanes offer a lower-cost, adaptable alternative. - **Vehicle Usage**: Utilizing one scooter by **20 people** versus one person owning one dedicated vehicle. - **Mobility Energy Source**: Personal combustion vehicles vs. electric mobility (which has lower operational worries). ## Counterarguments & Caveats - **Government Provision**: Providing free two or four-wheelers does not solve congestion because of limited physical space for movement or parking. - **Metro Viability**: Metro rail is not always the appropriate solution for every city size. - **Sharing Concept**: The concept of sharing is not novel to India, as the speaker notes, *"we have always been sharing whatever."* ## Methodology - **Map Analysis**: Using Mumbai’s map to demonstrate the land-use inefficiency (parking vs. human habitation). - **Comparative Analysis**: Contrasting the Western, single-CBD development model with India's sprawling, multi-node urbanization reality. - **Iterative Improvement**: Describing the process of solving basic location tracking by adding non-technical verification (photo + landmark) before deploying advanced tech. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Shared mobility must be implemented across a *"whole gamut of things"* to avoid urban collapse. - Solutions must address "real life problems" beyond just congestion, such as interest-based pooling (e.g., trekking groups). - To succeed, the system must build **asset safety** and **trust** to ensure users rely on the shared model. - Investment should prioritize local innovation, such as dedicated bus lanes, over massive, singular infrastructure projects. ## Implications & Consequences - Failure to implement shared mobility will cause cities like Bangalore to lose their appeal to investors and talent. - The enduring nature of the mobility problem implies that solutions must be adaptable and networked rather than singular. - The core consequence of poor planning is dedicating valuable urban land to static parking infrastructure instead of human activity. ## Open Questions - How to solve for morbidity and congestion given the persistent, eternal nature of the mobility problem. ## Verbatim Moments - *"I'll just explain why we think shared mobility is super important super critical for both the economy and how how the world revolves."* - *"Nobody has to be seen like a fundamental right fundamental right like how we are right to speak right to get educated."* - *"This problem of congestion will not get solved on its own."* - *"If we leave Bangalore Aziz for next few years i think Bangalore will not be the most preferred place of work for anyone be it investors breed for talent."* - *"where the center of the city it's always vertical so you can provide first my last mile walking everything and it can be sorted."* - *"so sharing is not very new thing for india right as and we have always been sharing whatever."* - *"we don't have enough space enough space to move on the roads or enough space to even park."* - *"one scooter can be used by 20 people."* - *"the problem on mobility is going to be there forever so please think on this this is the last problem and the solutions are never enough with this."*