School mobility in Cascais
Challenge
Most residents in São Domingos de Rana commute daily either in the direction of Cascais center to the western side, or in the direction of Lisbon to the eastern side. In both directions, there are transport services of above reasonable quality that can take commuters to their destination.
In this context, the mobility department considers that one line of action needed to obtain a further modal shift to public transport is to eliminate barriers felt by the population to dispense car use. Like in many urban contexts, a major barrier identified by commuters contemplating alternatives to car use is the fact that they have to take their children to school. 50% of children in S. Domingos Rana are driven by car to school. When they do not live within walking distance and cycling is not perceived as safe and reliable, parents become dependent on the car and extend its use to their commuting routine.
This challenge has the objective of creating new alternatives to single car use in taking children to school that are used. Some of the possible solutions could be delivered along the following lines of approach: Shared transport between different children, including business operated or community driven solutions; Making autonomous walking or cycling to school safe and secure.
The specific target of this challenge is the population of children attending elementary school (ages 6 through 10). Within the parish of São Domingos de Rana there are 17 elementary schools, from which 12 are public and 5 are private. Depending on the type of solutions presented, the city council and the startup will select a subset of these schools as intervention sites to optimize the resources and results of the pilot.
CURRENT SITUATION
The solution should meet at least one of the following objectives:
- Primary: Achieving a modal shift from the private car to sustainable alternatives.
- Secondary : Wider and long term effects on mobility culture. Strengthening of the local community, creating awareness for the various benefits of mobility alternatives compared to private car use, and the capacity building among citizens and stakeholders to expand choices and develop children’s autonomy.
The solution should target at least one of the following impacts:
- 10% car use reduction on chidren trips to school, within one year.
Solution
The Childfy platform offers users the ability to both request and provide shared pathways with other families, making it easy to find and coordinate rides. The platform has an alert system that sends a message at the beginning and end of each journey. This feature is sent from the parents who offer the trip to the parents that request the trip, providing peace of mind. A chat function is also available, allowing families who offer and accept shared trips to communicate with each other. Finally, Childfy provides an analytics dashboard that gives schools key metrics resulting from ride-sharing. This feature helps schools track family ride-sharing usage and make more informed decisions regarding their school commutes. Overall, the Childfy platform promotes safe and efficient carpooling for school commuting. The platform’s unique features and focus on privacy and security make it an attractive option for families seeking to reduce their car usage and promote sustainable mobility.
Results
•The pilot took place in two schools (Salesianos de Manique and Escola Básica Fernando José dos Santos).
•During the first week of trial, Childfy achieved: sharing of 95 trips and 1 tonne of CO2 emissions saved.
