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Deel’N: Shared Mobility in Northern Netherlands

To improve mobility in rural areas, the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, and Friesland are collaborating on the Deel'N project. This project aims to develop sustainable and accessible shared mobility solutions that meet the needs of residents and reduce the negative impact of car usage. Deel'N strives to raise awareness and create social and economic opportunities for shared mobility. The ultimate goal is to enhance overall well-being and the accessibility of shared mobility in rural areas.

Rural communities face the challenge of limited transport options, which hampers the mobility of residents. The lack of frequent public transport connections and long distances to amenities lead to a dependence on private cars. This is not sustainable and restricts the mobility of non-car owners. It can also result in social isolation, reduced access to employment and daily amenities, and environmental problems due to excessive car use. Finding affordable, accessible, and sustainable solutions for shared mobility in rural areas can significantly improve the quality of life for residents and reduce negative environmental impacts.

Collaboration in Deel’N

The three northern provinces are collaborating on this project to initiate or expand shared mobility in rural areas. It is important to discover under what conditions and for whom shared mobility is a useful and attractive option. Rural areas appear to have a lot of potential, but the challenge remains to shape and promote shared mobility services. This project aims to build the knowledge and network to tackle this challenge.

Deel’N follows an iterative approach. Residents, visitors, and businesses in rural areas will provide input on what works for them. Based on this input, ‘use cases’ will be defined. Then, in collaboration with various partners, shared mobility services and business cases will be developed that align with these use cases. These will be tested through pilots to see what works and what doesn’t. Deel’N is open to various forms of shared mobility and focuses on:

  • Commercial business cases for shared mobility products.
  • Approaches to help communities organize (shared) mobility in their own environment.
  • Services and facilities that need to be set up by governments.

The overarching goal is to promote overall well-being in rural areas by improving accessibility through shared mobility.

Objectives

This project will be considered successful when shared mobility becomes a societal success and a viable transport option in rural areas. Several sub-goals are also needed:

  • Stimulating demand for shared mobility: Drivers need to be made aware that a shared car is cheaper at 7,500-10,000 km per year. A communication campaign will help people become familiar with and understand shared mobility.
  • Encouraging shared mobility providers: Social and economic business cases are needed to make shared mobility available, affordable, understandable, usable, and reliable.