Source Name: Micelio

Rocky Mountain Institute, Micelio in Collaboration with The Government of Karnataka Launch the Urban Mobility Lab in Bengaluru

Solutions to further accelerate Bengaluru’s transition to shared, clean, and citizen-centric mobility were identified for implementation

Feb 21, 2020   07:33 AM 
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Rocky Mountain Institute and Micelio in partnership with the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Invest Karnataka Forum, and Department of Industries and Commerce (DIC), launched their ambitious Urban Mobility Lab in Bangalore to identify, develop, and implement mobility solutions that transform how people and goods move.

 

L-R: Anand Ganapathy Chennira - Chief Operating Officer Micelio; Clay Stranger - Senior Principal RMI; Shreyas Shibulal - Founder & Director Micelio; Pramod Varma - CTO EkStep Foundation; S.D Shibulal - Co-founder Infosys and Axilor Ventures; V. Ponnuraj - Commissioner DULT; Gaurav Gupta Principal Secretary, Karnataka Govt: Commerce & Industries; Tejasvi Surya - Member of Parliament Bengaluru South; Ajay Seth - Managing Director BMRCL; Bhaskar Rao - Commissioner Bangalore City Police; C.Shikha - BMTC Managing Director; Mahesh Babu - CEO Mahindra Electric; Akshima Ghate - Principal RMI

 

Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament for Bengaluru South Lok Sabha Constituency was the chief guest for the occasion. Other dignitaries present included, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited Managing Director - Ajay Seth, Bangalore City Police, Commissioner of Police - Bhaskar Rao, Government of Karnataka, Transport and Commerce and Industries Principal Secretary - Gaurav Gupta, Directorate of Urban Land Transport, Commissioner - V. Ponnuraj, BMTC Managing Director - C. Shikha, EkStep Foundation CTO - Pramod Varma, Infosys and Axilor Ventures Co-founder - S. D. Shibulal, RMI’s Principal - Akshima Ghate, Micelio’s Founder & Director - Shreyas Shibulal.

 

Shreyas Shibulal with Tejasvi Surya

 

The two-day multi stakeholder workshop held February 19-20, 2020 saw a culmination of over 150 participants from the mobility ecosystem in Bengaluru who worked together to address system-level barriers and develop implementation plans for the city. The workshop was organized around six thematic areas - charging and battery swapping infrastructure, data-based solutions, electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, first and last-mile connectivity, public transit, and urban final-mile delivery.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament for Bengaluru South said, “All transport agencies that we have, including our private operators must work in a coordinated fashion towards a common objective. Revising transport laws is also important. The concern with monopoly in public transport must be addressed with more private players coming in. We need to make our people use public transport and avoid private vehicles. We also need to look into increasing the size of the fleet in our city. What is lacking in the indian context is the lack of specialists in managing urban mobility decisions which is a concern. Structural reforms should be undertaken imperatively and I am confident that the Urban Mobility Lab will go a long way in proposing concrete suggestions and solutions.”

 

Commenting on the launch, Shreyas Shibulal, Founder & Director - Micelio, said, “The  collaborative effort of the last six months bringing together all key stakeholders - the government, private sector, and civil society under one roof has been fruitful to identify solutions that will eventually accelerate Bengaluru’s transition towards shared, clean and citizen-centric mobility. This is just the beginning. At Micelio, we are committed to going the distance to make this happen.

 

At the workshop, Akshima Ghate, RMI’s, Principal said, “We’re grateful to the Government of Karnataka for extending their full support for the launch of the Urban Mobility Lab in Bengaluru. Efficient and sustainable transportation is key to Bengaluru’s mobility goals and to transform the lives of the citizens of this city and we’re glad that we are making progress together.”

 

About Urban Mobility Lab

The Urban Mobility Lab is a platform that helps leading urban geographies, called Lighthouse Cities, identify, integrate, implement, and scale mobility solutions that transform how people and goods move.

 

The Lab was launched in November 2017, when NITI Aayog and RMI launched a grand challenge to select the first host city.

 

Since 2017, RMI has partnered with the Delhi Government and Pune Municipal Corporation to co host the Lab in Delhi and Pune. In these cities, the Lab has helped identify policy, business, and technology solutions to system-level barriers and accelerate the implementation of shared, clean, and citizen-centric mobility projects.

 

About Directorate of Urban Land Transport 

DULT has been set up by the Government of Karnataka (GoK) under the Urban Development Department (UDD) with the objective to coordinate planning and implementation of urban transport projects and programs. The directorate is, in general, responsible for overseeing all the urban land transport initiatives in urban/ local planning areas of Karnataka and administers the State Urban Transport Fund (SUTF).

 

DULT’s vision is to provide efficient, sustainable and integrated transportation systems that enhance Karnataka’s economic competitiveness and prosperity while preserving the quality of its environment and communities.

 

About Department of Industries and Commerce

DIC acts as a catalyst for the overall development of the industrial sector through effective discharge of developmental and facilitation roles. With a view to promote investment and trade, the department formulates and implements the state policies,.Identification of sectoral advantages of the state and human resource development for sustainable and growth-oriented industrialization have been crucial roles of the department. Facilitating the takeoff of infrastructure projects that boost industrial growth has also been the department’s forte. The department helps enhance the competitiveness of domestic industry through modernization, technology upgradation and adoption of best practices. It also provides a forum for entrepreneurs and industrialists, through their associations, to represent their needs to the government, which translates into policies of the state.

 

About Rocky Mountain Institute

RMI is an independent, apolitical, non-profit think-and-do tank that transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure future. Co-founded by Amory Lovins in 1982, RMI has been a leader in energy efficiency and renewable energy for 35 years. RMI published India Leaps Ahead: Transformative Mobility Solutions for All with NITI Aayog in May 2017, and works with key government partners such as NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to support India’s transition to clean, shared, and connected mobility systems.

 

About Micelio

Micelio, which is Co-founded by Shreyas Shibulal, is at the helm of the EV revolution in India. It aims to be an enabler of innovation by creating a sustainable mobility ecosystem with a strong EV focus.

 

Micelio has four companies under it:

  • Micelio Fund invests in startups in the EV ecosystem including those with a focus on drivetrain technologies, charging infrastructure, energy management and special-purpose EVs

  • Micelio Discovery Lab is a state-of-the-art infrastructure and workshop space which acts as an incubation space for the startups to collaborate and create products to lead the EV revolution

  • Lightning Logistics is a pure play EV last-mile delivery firm and provides customers with a seamless last-mile delivery experience with intelligent, data-driven solutions

  • Product Company is building a cool EV form factor, with an initial focus on the Indian last-mile solutions