Switch, the Italian startup that makes shared mobility in the city more organised, efficient and economical

A platform capable of planning the distribution of vehicles within urban contexts with the aim of optimizing mobility:Here's Switch.

• Switch is a technology company born in Rome that produces software at the service of shared mobility.
• It has created a software platform with artificial intelligence and machine learning dedicated to both mobility companies and city administrations.
• The program is able to analyze a large amount of data and return a complete picture of the evolution and needs of shared mobility, thus managing to improve the urban transport service.

In many metropolises around the world, it is preferable to rely on public transport or short-term rental of a means to move around the city streets.The limitations of access to historic centers, the difficulty in finding parking and greater consideration for the environment are making obsolete the customs of the past, according to which every citizen had to have a personal car.This is also thanks to technological innovations, such as the widespread apps of car sharing or bicycle rental, as well as an improvement in urban transport.This change is called shared mobility:there shared mobility the Italian startup has been establishing itself in recent years Switches wants to make it even easier to implement its services.The first field tests in Italian cities tell a positive success story for the environment.

What's new in shared mobility

We are referring to shared mobility to using a vehicle collectively rather than individually.Whether it's cars, electric bikes or scooters, every day travelers pick up vehicles in congested places and drop them off in low-traffic areas.This, however, is so far one of the negative aspects of the innovation, because users often do not find a convenient ride, local administrations risk offering a low-quality urban mobility service and operators lose revenue as they spend a lot of money on recovery due to poorly distributed fleets.

To make up for the lack of forecasting capabilities and resources, and offer know-how for data management, there is Switch, which is part of the ecosystem LifeGate Way.The startup develops software for management of shared mobility fleets via a platform based on machine learning e artificial intelligence capable of analyzing travel data and the characteristics of a city so as to suggest the best distribution of vehicles based on expected mobility demand.“Switch is currently active in seven cities:Turin, Rome, Milan, Florence, Bari, Palermo and Pescara.We collaborate with local administrations in Turin and Rome, while in other cities we operate with important private operators.The first results are encouraging and in line with the objectives of increase in vehicle use through better distribution and lower costs with more efficient management of maintenance operations” he explains Matteo Forte, founder and sole director of the company.The product is designed for operators of mobile sharing services, for local administrations and for delivery or logistics companies.

The results in Turin and Rome

In Rome, Switch is using City Insight, a module of the platform that allows act on urban mobility planning.In particular, the objective is to optimize the position and quantity of charging stations for electric vehicles.This project integrates various data, such as mobility data from the operator WindTre and Roma Capitale, to simulate different scenarios and identify the best solutions.In Turin, in collaboration with the municipal administration and the 5T company, Forte and his associates have started a project aimed at improve the management of shared mobility using business intelligence and monitoring modules.This allows the Municipality of Turin and 5T to analyze the historical performances relating to the use of shared mobility vehicles in their territory, identify areas for improvement and intervene promptly in case of violations to guarantee an efficient, sustainable and respectful of shared mobility service. rules.

Forte lived in busy Trastevere, in the center of Rome:that's where, from assiduous user of sharing mobility, understood the problems of these services.Switch was initially an app that connected those who were driving a car sharing car with users who were looking for one.By facilitating the meeting, it allowed the former to save time by not having to look for parking, and the latter to find an available car where and when they needed it.With this idea, i founders manage to raise an initial investment from MobilityUP and to be selected by LVEnture Group and Sara Assicurazioni for the Urban tech pre-acceleration path.The company was founded in mid-February 2020.

Switch hits

After the trust of the first investors of MobilityUP, the selection for Berkeley Skydeck Europe, the accelerator program at the University of Berkeley, California, which represented a significant turning point, having provided both the funding and the impetus to define the vision of the Italian startup.“Further validation of our path came from the European Institute of Technology, Eit Urban Mobility, which selected us for a significant research grant and development and for E+ Mobility, their vertical mobility acceleration program.This will allow us to further evolve our platform and present it to cities and companies across Europe,” says Forte.

Switch promises operators to reduce costs and increase revenues.Furthermore, the startup allows you to identify any areas for improvement and intervene promptly guarantee a shared mobility service increasingly efficient and sustainable.“The signals we receive are very encouraging and our team is full of energy and optimism,” concludes Matteo Forte.“We firmly believe that by the end of the year we will be able to expand the in service several European cities.We are already exploring several opportunities and look forward to announcing them publicly."Thanks to an Italian idea, it will soon be possible in many cities accelerate the transition towards lighter, electric and shared urban mobility.