The future of urban transport

To find out more please visit mergegreenwich.com or email merge@addisonlee.com

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Contents

Background 4

Project 5

Partners: 7

Addison Lee Group 8

Ford 8

DG Cities 9

TRL 9

Transport Systems Catapult 10

Immense Simulations 10

FAQs 11

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Background

MERGE Greenwich is a ground-breaking project which aims to re-think urban transport.

With the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles and the development of ride-sharing services, there is now an opportunity to radically improve the way we travel around cities.

MERGE Greenwich will simulate how an Autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service could be integrated with public transport systems. This project can provide the fundamental first step towards mass roll out of AVs and helps maintain the UK position as a leader in global mobility innovation.

The consortium, led by global mobility services operator, Addison Lee, includes Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, Immense Simulations and DG Cities. Jointly funded by government and industry, the £1m project will spend 12 months developing a blueprint for Autonomous Vehicle (AV) ride-sharing which complements existing the transport network.

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Project

The way we travel is changing, our priorities and needs are expanding rapidly and it is crucial that technology keeps up to meet our demands and ensure public transport is environmentally friendly.

Based at the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London, the 12-month MERGE Greenwich project will use the Royal Borough of Greenwich to simulate how an Autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service could deliver commercially viable services that complement and enhance existing transport solutions.

The consortium will investigate ways to improve travel around cities, reduce total vehicle journeys and emissions, using innovative developments in electric and autonomous vehicles. The project will focus on the social, commercial and infrastructural challenges posed by AVs, and will consider the safety, accessibility, environmental and ride-sharing, factors of autonomous public transport.

The project will deliver a comprehensive simulation showing how AV ride-sharing can be integrated into the transport system; alongside detailed analysis of the benefits to communities and the environment through reduced emissions and journey times. An overall business model, including vehicle requirements and possible barriers to adoption will also be published. From this, real-world AV ride-sharing testing could be carried out which will provide the crucial next step towards mass roll out of AVs.

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Partners

The MERGE project is run by a consortium comprising six organisations with significant and complementary transportation expertise.

Led by Addison Lee, partners include Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, Immense Simulations and DG Cities Ltd (part of the Royal London Borough of Greenwich).

Addison LeeThe global leader in premium mobility, carrying 10 million passengers each year, covering 200 million miles across 83 countries, operating a fleet of 5,500 vehicles.Addison Lee Group is proud to be leading the RIDE project. The organisation brings a wealth of real world commercial knowledge of operating a large fleet on a global scale, which enables the RIDE project to accelerate the validation of the AV ride-sharing model beyond any previous project.

FordFord Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford is proud to be a participant in the MERGE Greenwich project and brings to the consortium expertise to develop vehicle requirements fit for purpose in an AV ride-sharing model.

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DG CitiesDG Cities Ltd is a commercial subsidiary of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, one of Europe’s leading smart cities. Royal Greenwich was one of the fi rst to realise that the challenges cities face - traffi c congestion, environmental pollution and – cannot be solved through traditional methods alone.

Greenwich instead realised that smarter approaches, making use of new technologies and digital services, are needed to both cope with the challenges ahead. The MERGE project will benefi t enormously from DG Cities’ work to understand how CAV should be deployed within diverse and complex urban environments to maximise the benefi ts for cities and their residents. They will lead on work to ensure that the business model is compatible with the needs of the Borough.

TRLTRL is the global centre for innovation in transport and mobility. It provides world-leading research, technology and software solutions for surface transport modes and related markets of automotive, motorsport, insurance and energy.

For the MERGE project, TRL will leverage its signifi cant mobility expertise form the Greenwich based UK Smart Mobility Living Lab and numerous related projects, including GATEway to further analyse and develop the business case for autonomous ride-sharing.

Transport Systems CatapultThe Transport Systems Catapult is the UK’s technology and innovation centre for intelligent mobility. The organisation has a strong team of experts from across transportation and related fi elds, which are focussed on promoting sustained economic growth and well-being through integrated, effi cient and sustainable transport systems.

The MERGE project will benefi t from the Transport Systems Catapult’s extensive modelling experience and data relating to ride-sharing and AVs. Professionals within the Modelling and Visualisation team will develop a base model for the study area and test the city compatibility of the proposed ride share concepts and integration with public transport.

Immense SimulationsFounded in 2016 as a spin out from the the Transport Systems Catapult, Immense Simulations enables Intelligent Mobility visions to become a reality. By understanding and simulating the entire city transport eco-system, Immense Simulations’ advanced tools support important strategic and operational decision-making.

During the MERGE project, Immense Simulations will build on the base modelling developed by Transport Systems Catapult and focus on developing simulations of alternative concepts to assess their commercial viability.

ImmenseEnabling Intelligent Mobility

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FAQ’sWhat does MERGE stand for?What does MERGE stand for?MERGE defines how privately driven autonomous ride-sharing models can interact with public transport systems.By fitting autonomous vehicles into a broader transport network, we have an opportunity to improve people’s lives by enhancing transport provision to make it even more accessible and convenient for all.

What is the MERGE Greenwich project going to achieve?The MERGE project will develop the blueprint for a scalable commercial pilot for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service which is integrated with public transport systems.

• A plan on how autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing will integrate into public transport systems, focussed on the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

• Advanced simulation and analysis to demonstrate how this integrated solution can benefit consumers, society and the environment.

• Ideas on how to improve the efficiency of the way we travel around cities and how to reduce congestion and emissions.

• Requirements for a vehicle which would integrate optimally into this mobility solution

• A review of customer barriers to the adoption of such a service and design considerations to overcome them.

• A detailed commercial and business model

Where is the project taking place?The MERGE project will be based at the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London. Located in the heart of London, Greenwich is one of the UK’s leading smart cities and a global reference point for mobility innovation.

Who is leading the project?The MERGE project is led by the global mobility operator, Addison Lee Group, which has been leading in mobility innovation for over 40 years. As well as overseeing the project as a whole, Addison Lee is leading the work package which focusses on business and operating model development.

Which organisations form the MERGE Greenwich consortium?In addition to Addison Lee Group, the MERGE consortium members are Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult, DG Cities and Immense Simulations. Find out more about the roles each consortium member is playing on our Partners page [insert link]

How is the MERGE Greenwich project funded?The total value of the MERGE project is just under £1 million and is co-funded by industry and government. Innovate UK has awarded £736,000 to the consortium and the remaining costs are being met by the consortium members, mainly Addison Lee Group.

How will the MERGE Greenwich project develop results? The MERGE consortium will pool data relating to all aspects of an AV ride-sharing system which integrates with public transport. This includes vehicle requirements, traffic management, passenger journeys, customer decision criteria, policies etc. This data will be modelled by Transport Systems Catapult, which will be developed

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further by Immense Simulations, who will carry out an advanced simulation. This simulation will indicate how the integrated ride-sharing model could work in a real-world environment and how it could be optimised to ensure it is commercially viable and able to meet consumer needs.When will the MERGE project take place?When will the MERGE Greenwich project take place?The MERGE project began on 1st July 2017 and will be carried out over 12 months.How will the MERGE project benefit the UK?How will the MERGE Greenwich project benefit the UK?MERGE will develop a world first; a custom-designed blueprint which showcases the UK’s cutting-edge mobility capability. By reinforcing the UK’s position as a global leader in this field, the country can attract further research and development investment, leading to new jobs, new opportunities and growth for the economy.

With some of the brightest British automotive and ground transport brains involved, the MERGE partnership will continue to help pave the way for autonomous vehicles on the streets of London at scale, to provide significantly improved transport. This will put the UK at the forefront of global mobility development.How will the MERGE project benefit the consumer?How will the MERGE Greenwich project benefit the consumer?With the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles, there is now an opportunity to redefine transport in our cities and towns. Offering modern, flexible and responsive mobility services that can be shared by the public is likely to reduce the cost to the consumer, reduce the number of journeys and vehicles on our roads – helping the environment and improving road safety.

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