RMI, Micelio partner with Karnataka govt to launch Urban Mobility Lab in Bengaluru

The two-day multi stakeholder workshop held on February 19-20 saw a culmination of over 150 participants from the mobility ecosystem in Bengaluru.
RMI, Micelio partner with Karnataka govt to launch Urban Mobility Lab in Bengaluru
RMI, Micelio partner with Karnataka govt to launch Urban Mobility Lab in Bengaluru
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Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) 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 Bengaluru on Thursday to identify, develop, and implement mobility solutions that transform how people and goods move. 

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 and Tejasvi Surya

The two-day multi stakeholder workshop held on February 19-20 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 organised 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 last-mile delivery.

Speaking on the occasion, Tejasvi Surya said that all transport agencies including 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 are 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.”

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.”

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 initiated 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.

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