Geofencing – new tool in town!

The first geofencing applications appear in city streets: hybrid vehicles are turned to electric mode within specific areas, and speed is limited close to schools. Within this frame, forty European experts met 29 May in Gothenburg to discuss geofencing and see the technology in action.

Questions addressed: How is the technology evolving, what is the expected market uptake, and how can cities use this in planning and managing traffic? Furthermore, what is the role of the cities, what challenges are posed and what are the next steps?

Geofencing Workshop in Gothenburg - a closer look

The city of Gothenburg, Volvo Group, CLOSER and Polis cooperated to have this first-of-a-kind exchange, for cities to better understand what the technology and its applications entail, and for industry and research to see how geofencing can help cities.

"The workshop is an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience, and an important step in intensifying cooperation at the European level. Geofencing has been in use on two bus lines in Gothenburg since 2015, as part of the cooperation ElectriCity. Geofencing is used to limit the speed of the buses on parts of the route and to ensure that the buses run on electricity when they should. Our ambition now is to scale up", says Mikael Ivari, senior advisor at the Urban Transport Department in Gothenburg.

"The Volvo group participates in a number of initiatives aiming to maintain a close dialogue with all types of stakeholders. It is crucial for us, as a provider of heavy vehicles, to engage actively in the dialogue of creating a safer and more sustainable city environment", says Peter Kronberg, Safety Director at the Volvo Group.

"In 2017, the Swedish government initiated a project to create safer and more climate-smart cities using geofencing technology. Due to this we have a national arena in place for strategic collaboration. The workshop today is an important step towards intensifying the collaboration, on matters such as harmonisation of policy and technology on the international level", says Lina Moritz Program Manager at CLOSER, that coordinates the Swedish R&I platform for geofencing.

Polis Secretary-General Karen Vancluysen welcomes the exchange: "Polis and its members show great interest in understanding the potential of geofenced solutions for better road safety, air quality and access regulation. Our member Gothenburg won the Thinking Cities award for a project using this technology. Today’s workshop provided a unique opportunity to discuss how geofencing can be used to implement local policies, and which technological conditions need to be met to enable its further take-up. We look forward to further developments in this field."