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NTUA Publishes New Study on Optimal Electric Bus Charging Infrastructure Placement in Athens

As cities race to replace polluting diesel buses with cleaner electric ones, the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) has published a new research article addressing a critical challenge in the transition to electric public transport: where to place charging stations for electric buses.

The new study introduces a model that helps city planners figure out where to place electric bus charging stations for maximum efficiency and cost savings. The model takes into account key factors like how far a bus has to travel (without passengers) to reach a charging station after finishing its route, as well as the type of charger needed, either slower, cheaper ones or fast chargers that cost more but work quicker.

Explored in the Athens Municipal area, the model can handle large transport systems involving thousands of bus trips and hundreds of potential charging locations. It models complex day-to-day bus operations and provides the respective decision support, so that cities can make long-term, strategic decisions.

Publication Details

Gkiotsalitis, K., Rizopoulos, D., Merakou, M., Iliopoulou, C., Liu, T., & Cats, O. (2025). Electric bus charging station location selection problem with slow and fast charging. In Applied Energy (Bd. 382). metaCCAZE. Horizon Europe Grant No. 101139678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.125242 

All metaCCAZE publications are available on our Zenodo community here.

 About NTUA

The Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) is a globally recognised center of excellence in transport research and innovation. Its mission is to educate transport engineers and advance science in transport planning and engineering. In metaCCAZE, NTUA is the technical coordinator and leads WP2, focused on developing an open, smart toolkit that integrates electrification, automation, and connectivity to support zero-emission shared mobility systems.

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Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions

AMS Institute is the joint research institute of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), TU Delft, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Based in Amsterdam and closely collaborating with the City of Amsterdam, the institute is uniquely positioned to proper innovative solutions for urban challenges worldwide: to re-invent cities. With more than 1.000 public and private partners, the institute conducts cutting-edge research, offers educational programs (including the in-house joint degree master MSc MADE), and fosters startups to create sustainable and livable urban environments that benefit both society and the economy.

AMS Institute covers critical topics like mobility, energy, digitalisation, climate resilience, circularity, and food. Its transdisciplinary approach to research and innovation brings together world-class experts from different fields to solve complex problems in a real-world setting. The institute uses the city of Amsterdam as a unique testing ground for urban innovation and experimentation in which researchers, students, designers, and entrepreneurs work closely with stakeholders and problem owners to test, develop and create solutions for urban challenges in Amsterdam and cities worldwide.

Within the metaCCAZE program, AMS Institute coordinates the co-creation of the Amsterdam Living Lab pilots, as well as citizen engagement activities. With a group of multi-sector stakeholders AMS Institute prepares the physical and digital ground for the demonstrations and will safely and securely implement relevant technologies developed in metaCCAZE. It will support the transfer of this knowledge by co-hosting training activities for the follower cities.

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Zoev City

Zoev City stands for ‘Carefree Solution for Electric Transport in the city’. We provide sustainable transportation of goods over water in busy city centers. With our floating hubs with 80 tons of cargo space and light electric vehicles, we can reach any address in the city center. On the way back, the HUB also takes waste out of the city; our sustainable giants naturally don’t sail back empty. Zoev City transports with maximum efficiency and minimal impact on people and the environment.

Our organisation is embarking on the creation of an autonomous barge, pioneering innovative solutions for waterborne transportation. With a focus on sustainability and efficiency, we aim to revolutionise cargo transport in urban settings. This autonomous barge represents a significant leap forward in the realm of marine logistics, offering a glimpse into the future of environmentally friendly and technologically advanced transportation systems.

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LOCAL COUNCIL OF YVELINES

The local council of Yvelines is in the western part of the Paris region. It is made up of 262 rural, peri-urban and urban administrative districts (cities) and extends over 2,284.4 km² for 1,438,266 inhabitants. It has responsibility for social action welfare (child, disabled and older people), education (management of lower secondary school buildings), management of departmental roads, sustainable town and country planning, fire safety. Some competences are shared with other public authorities: tourism, environment, culture and access to technology.

Regarding transport infrastructures, the territory is crossed by 1,577 kilometers of departmental roads, as well as by 8 railway lines and numerous cycling routes. The local council contributes to the development and safety of departmental roads, the reinforcement of the attractiveness of public transport, a more efficient organisation of modal shift, and accompanies the expected changes in mobility behaviour and usage. It conducts a proactive policy so as to develop soft traffic and promote the use of alternative means of transport to the car.

We are a follower hub and we will have a major role in the task 2.5 in the deployment of the V2X. To be specific, we will deploy with our partner a new connectivity between infrastructure, vehicle and drone.

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VEDECOM

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University of Naples Federico II

Founded in 1224, the University of Naples Federico II (UNINA) is the oldest secular university in the world and one of the largest in Europe with 90,000 students (2022). UNINA has 26 different faculties, from engineering to architecture, from medicine to law, from humanities to biology. The Department of Civil Engineering has been recognized as a Department of Excellence for the quality of its research.

Within the metaCCAZE project, the University of Naples Federico II will lead Task 1.6, which aims at designing the methodological framework and the communication channels for the transferability of the use cases from the Trailblazer Cities to the Follower Cities, as well as for the cross-fertilisation among all Living Labs.
UNINA will also support AMAT (an in-house company of the Municipality of Milan) in the pilot demonstration of an on-demand ride-sharing service operated by modular semi-automated pods. UNINA will carry out the simulation studies and the evaluation of the impact and scalability of the service.

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University of Malta

The University of Malta (UOM) traces its origins to the founding of the Collegium Melitense by the Jesuits in 1592. The College was raised to University status by Grand Master Manoel Pinto de Fonseca in 1769. Situated at Msida, it is the highest teaching institution of the State by which it is mainly financed and is open to all those who have the requisite qualifications. Over the past few years, the University has reviewed its structures in order to be in line with the Bologna process. Conscious of its public role, the University strives to create courses which are relevant and timely in response to the national, regional and international needs. The supreme governing bodies of the University are the Council and the Senate.The University has been involved as coordinator and partner in numerous EU funded projects under various Programmes including FP5/6/7, Horizon 2020, Lifelong Learning Programme, Culture 2000, Tempus, Erasmus+, INTERREG EU-MED-ITALIA MALTA-ENPI CBC MED and various other international and national programmes and initiatives.

The University is also represented in a number of European and international University networks and groups. University of Malta (UM) is the sole public and highest teaching institution in Malta, with its structures being in line with the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area. UM has a 400-year history and there are over 11,500 students including 1,000 foreign/exchange students from nearly 92 different countries, following full-time or part-time degree and diploma courses. Around 3,500 students graduate each year. UM is comprised of 14 Faculties and several other campuses: at Valletta, Marsaxlokk and Gozo. As of 2020, the UM employed a total of 2,848 employees including academics, administrative, technical and industrial staff (1,885 on a full-time basis and 963 on a part-time basis).

The Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development within the University of Malta supports the Follower Living Lab implementation in the islands of Malta. The Institute will support Malta Public Transport in the implementation of the on-demand electric autonomous bus service and seek to oversee the implementation of the metaCCAZE technological innovations following their trials in the leader cities. It will support the co-design activities, the user acceptance, the design of use cases and business innovation and governance models alongside the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Planning. It will be responsible for the impact evaluation of the project as implemented in Malta.

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Chair of Traffic Engineering and Control — Technical University of Munich

The Chair of Traffic Engineering and Control of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has extensive expertise in the development, testing, and evaluation of innovative, multimodal measures to influence traffic and mobility in urban areas. The Chair is integrated into the Department of Mobility Systems Engineering in the TUM School of Engineering and Design, one of the most prestigious engineering schools in Europe. The topics of the chair are addressed in five research groups: Test Fields and Simulators, Public Transport Systems, Traffic Flow Fundamentals, Traffic Control, and On-Demand Mobility.

The Chair of Traffic Engineering at TUM has extensive experience in the fields of traffic simulation and on-demand mobility services through numerous research projects. In recent years, the Python-based software framework FleetPy has been developed for the simulation of on-demand (autonomous) fleets. The chair has already successfully carried out numerous projects within Europe-wide cooperations with public authorities, research institutions, and private sector companies.

TUM plays a twofold role in the metaCCAZE project. First, it is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the activities and demonstrations in the Trailblazer Cities —Tasks 3.6— and is thus a member of the executive board. Second, it is the main supporter of the Municipality of Munich (Landeshauptstadt München; LHM) in the design and implementation of Munich’s Living Lab. Our role is to contribute with our expertise and provide scientific support for the monitoring, evaluation, and optimisation of the activities of the Living Lab. The Living Lab consists of three main innovations: i) the set up and operation of a network of multimodal logistics hubs, ii) the implementation of a dynamic curbside management system, and iii) the deployment of a small-size connected and (partly-)automated vehicle for last-mile transport of passengers and goods.

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Delft University of Techology

The Delft University of Technology is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022, it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among the top 10 Engineering and Technology universities in the world. With eight faculties and numerous research institutes, it has more than 26,000 students (undergraduate and postgraduate), 3,000 doctoral candidates, and 4,000 employees (teaching, research, support and management staff).
The Department of Transport & Planning, which is part of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, is a global leader in transport science and engineering, providing top-level education and world-class scientific research to develop knowledge and tools for sustainable and resilient multimodal transport systems for people and goods.

TU Delft will participate mostly in WP2 and WP3 where it develops key technologies for important pilots related to multimodal logistics management as well as mobility credits taking advantage of new modes of transport that are connected, automated, and electrified. We bring our experience with Operations Research and Data Science to support the planning and operation of more sustainable transport systems. The university will be helping AMS to lead the Amsterdam Living Lab and its 5 pilots, among which a digital twin environment to connect all the pilots’ initiatives.

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TRT Trasporti e Territorio

TRT is an independent research and consulting firm specialised in transport and mobility planning, transport economics and modelling. The company’s headquarter is based in Milan with a branch office in Brussels. Established in 1992, TRT has earned a solid reputation in supporting public and private actors thanks to its professional and R&D activities in the fields of transport projects and policy assessment. TRT is, indeed, experienced in several and referenced professional services in the following main areas: strategic planning, urban mobility, research projects, feasibility studies, project assessment, transport demand analysis and forecast, logistics and freight transport, planning and regulating of public transport, energy and environment.

TRT has been active in research studies since its founding and has a long experience in participating to research programmes funded by the European Commission, from the fourth Framework Programme up to the new Horizon Europe. Research topics range from methodologies for the evaluation of transport projects, the development of innovative modelling tools, the analysis of energy efficiency of transport systems, the impact of new transport technologies, the promotion and evaluation of innovative mobility services (such as mobility as a service) and the mobility of women.

With reference to sustainable urban mobility, TRT has an extensive practice in providing guidance and support stakeholders from across CIVITAS initiatives. CIVITAS support action programmes foster knowledge transfer, dissemination of best practices and debate about innovative measures for sustainable urban mobility. Since 2008, TRT has been involved in different CIVITAS projects and currently in CIVITAS MUSE. Also, TRT is actively contributing to the EU Urban Mobility Observatory (former Eltis.org) and has participated in the drafting of both releases (2013 and 2019) of the European Guidelines for the drafting of SUMPs.

Role in metaCCAZE

In metaCCAZE, TRT is leader of WP1 that sets the ground by reviewing the current situation in the cities and defining the several activities that will help structuring the implementation of the trailblazer and follower cities as well as their cross-fertilisation. TRT will also design the standard impact evaluation framework that will be used by the cities to assess the efficiency and to ensure that their impacts align with the MISSION and SUMP/SULP targets.

In addition, TRT will prepare the “MetaPolicy Package” to contribute to updates of urban and transport policies and feed the strategic research and innovation agendas (SRIA) of CCAM, 2Zero, CIVITAS and other initiatives.

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Technolution

Technolution is an IT Systems engineering and integration company, with a presence in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the US, and with a main mission to provide working solutions for clients using IT Technology. In the field of urban mobility, Technolution provides digital platforms and sensors for dynamic multimodal mobility management across (road-) networks for use in municipal, regional and national traffic management centres. With a continued mission to keep solving societal challenges using the latest technological capabilities, Technolution is an active partner in (international) Research and Development consortia over the different markets and sectors that Technolution operates in, ranging from Mobility and Energy to Cybersecurity and Space.

Within the metaCCAZE project, Technolution contributes to the Dutch Living Lab in facilitating tradeable mobility credits between stakeholders and citizens, as a potential framework for monitoring, sharing and incentivising mobility patterns in cities. These capabilities complement the ongoing work of Technolution in dynamic sustainable mobility management, encompassing vehicles, cybersecurity, private micromobility, shared mobility services and public transport.

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Townmaking Institute

Townmaking is deeply concerned with urbanisation’s inability to address critical societal and environmental issues integrally. We address this by researching and developing societal assets that adress our Movements, Nutritions, Living and Livelihoods.

Urban Cycling culture covers many types of places, paths, bicycles, and riders. Collectively, they require a common typology that ensures the needs of this typology can be addressed by an adaptive, and therefore a resilient traffic governance program.

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Tampere University

Tampere University is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland. We bring together research and education in technology, health and society. The University is known for its excellence in teaching and research and it collaborates with hundreds of universities and organisations worldwide. Our community consists of 21,000 students and over 4,000 staff members from more than 80 countries.

The aim of Transport Research Centre Verne at Tampere University is to work in close cooperation with both City of Tampere and Remoted for the Tampere Living Lab activities. Our key activities link to developing the operating environment for the automated public transport through research.

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TAMPERE

The City of Tampere is the third largest city in Finland with 255,050 inhabitants (31.12.2023). Tampere is located in southern Finland,
between two large lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. 

The City of Tampere has long history and is actively developing ITS systems and services. The main goal is to add value to citizens everyday life, create new business opportunities to companies and to build a sustainable city. 

The goal in the project is to enable the next step of developing automated public transport towards commercial use working in close cooperation with other partners. 

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stadtraum – Association for urban planning, urban design and traffic technology

stadtraum, based in Berlin, Germany, is a leading smart city innovator, primarily distinguished by its software business unit dedicated to smart city solutions. This division focuses on developing advanced software platforms that facilitate data analysis and management, empowering urban centres to make informed decisions and improve the quality of life for their residents. 

While the company’s software solutions stand at the core of this project, stadtraum also operates as a planning office and an IoT hardware consultant. These complementary units enable the firm to offer a comprehensive suite of services — from strategic urban planning to the provision of essential IoT hardware — thereby supporting cities in becoming more efficient, sustainable, and interconnected.

In the Living Lab Munich of the metaCCAZE project, stadtraum capitalises on its smart city software prowess to elevate the initiative’s vision of seamless, zero emission urban mobility. As the designated software partner, stadtraum is tasked with crafting sophisticated software solutions that support the project’s innovative transport and infrastructure technologies. This includes systems for real-time autonomous fleet management and efficient traffic flow. 

Their expertise ensures Munich’s urban mobility framework is not only future-ready but also a model for other European cities aiming to integrate similar smart, sustainable mobility solutions.

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Steinbeis Europa Zentrum

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (STEINBEIS) is an independent economic entity within the Steinbeis Foundation. It was founded in March 1990 as the operational unit of the Commissioner for Europe of Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economics. SEZ’s core activity is to promote European Research and Technology Development programmes and to support cross-border technology transfer.

STEINBEIS supports small and medium-sized enterprises on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing of Baden-Württemberg. At the same time, it supports Universities of Applied Sciences on behalf of the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg.

Moreover, STEINBEIS is involved in several EU-funded projects (more than 70 in 2023) as either partner or coordinator, taking over tasks related to dissemination, communication, exploitation or financial and administrative project management.

Role in metaCCAZE

STEINBEIS is project partner and leader of task 5.1 for Dissemination and Communication. Also SEZ is leading the task 6.2 for administrative and financial management. In this context, STEINBEIS is responsible for

  • Design strategic communication of the project objectives and actions and engagement strategy to achieve optimal visibility activities increasing awareness, engagement, acceptance and fostering uptake of the metaCCAZE results, facilitating knowledge transfer and sustainability at Europeans and local level.
  • Design the D&C tools needed to initiate and implement the strategy. Establishment of activities to the community and dissemination strategy.
  • Set-up and implement the financial monitoring of whole project to ensure a proper understanding and the compliance to the Horizon Europe financial project framework through financial management trainings and helpdesk.
  • Coordination of the financial reportings to ensure quality of financial monitoring, reportings and payments.

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DB Schenker


With around 76,600 employees at more than 1,850 locations in over 130 countries, DB Schenker is one of the world’s leading logistics providers. The company operates land, air, and ocean transportation services, and it also offers comprehensive solutions for logistics and global supply chain management from a single source.

Aiming for a sustainable future of the logistics industry, DB Schenker continuously invests in innovative transport solutions, renewable energies, and low-emission products for its customers.

DB Schenker serves a pivotal role in the metaCCAZE project by leveraging its extensive knowledge and expertise in the realization of innovative transport solutions, both in theory and practice. As a consultant, DB Schenker brings a wealth of experience in integrating advanced mobility concepts into complex urban environments.

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Smart City System Parking Solutions GmbH

Smart City System is a company from Fürth (Germany) with the vision of creating the ideal parking infrastructure for smart cities. The team develops reliable, low-maintenance individual parking space sensors produced in Germany that can be installed in a wide variety of car parks. Once installed, the occupancy status of the car parks can be monitored and controlled in real time using software applications.
At the same time, customers have the option of integrating the data into their own existing systems via interfaces at any time. More than 50,000 sensors have already been installed in Germany and Europe. For example, 25 P&R car parks with more than 2,000 parking spaces have been digitised with the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe from Dresden. Smart City System sees itself as a full-service provider for its customers. From installation to operation and maintenance of the entire system, the team takes care of every step of the project.

Smart City System delivers and installs high-end parking space sensors. The data can be distributed within the research teams. Mainly together with Stadtraum new and adapted software products for curbside management will be developed.

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REMOTED

REMOTED is an urban mobility venture revolutionising how we navigate in cities and campuses.

We operate shared, electric, and self-driving shuttles and buses to deliver complete turn-key solutions to markets with superior consumer experience.

We firmly believe streets are public spaces and belong to people. At REMOTED, we are not just vehicle operators; we are architects shaping the future of urban transportation and improving the quality of life in cities.

REMOTED will deploy two automated buses and two shuttles, each for 12 months. In addition, we will develop automated charging device for robot buses and improve remote-control-centre capabilities.

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Oxygen for Democracy

Oxygen for Democracy (formerly Oxygono) is a non profit non-governmental organisation that was founded in 2014 and it consists of individuals from academia, civil society, policy and business sector. Its projects aim towards improving the policy-making process in Cyprus, to make it more participatory, transparent, scientific and evidence-based. Its flagship projects are Cyprus Forum and Nomoplatform, Cyprus Forum Cities and Procedural Law Unit Annual Symposium.

Oxygen for Democracy’s role to the Limassol Living Lab is to promote, disseminate and communicate the project to the relevant stakeholders, through social media, publications and the Cyprus Forum Cities, a conference on local government. Through the conference, the relevant stakeholders, in particular schools, parents and students, will discuss and be informed about the initiative, in order to create an empathy map for the project.

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ORGANISMOS ASTIKON SYGKOINONION ATHINON A.E (OASA S.A.)

Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA S.A.) is the authority responsible for planning and coordinating the public transport system in the metropolitan area of Athens. OASA runs the public transport day-to-day operation along with its two subsidiary companies: OSY S.A. which operates buses and trolleybuses and STASY S.A. which provides metro and tram services in the Greek Capital.

OASA will adjust its crew schedules to the operations of electric vehicles; OASA will expand its “Hastus” software license with the addition of the CREWopt module which provides integrated vehicle and crew scheduling.

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National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

The Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (www.transport.ntua.gr) is a Center of Research and Innovation Excellence in Transportation, with global recognition [Ranked 4th in Europe, 26th worldwide (EduRank 2023) and 41st in Europe, 168th worldwide (Shanghai Ranking’s 2023)]. The Mission of the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering is to educate scientists engineers and to promote science in the field of transportation planning and engineering. High scientific standards and performance are key objectives in all education and research activities of the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering. The Vision of the NTUA Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering is a future with highly efficient, green and safe transport systems in Greece, in Europe and globally, through high level scientific research and technological development supporting evidence-based decision making in all aspects of all transport modes and types.

The Scope of the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering comprises all transport modes (road, rail, water, air, combined), all transport types (people and goods, urban and interurban, national and international, terminals) and all phases of transportation projects (planning, design, tendering, construction, delivery for operation, operation, management, maintenance). A Team of 80+ Scientists: 5 Professors, 7 Professors Emeriti, 18 Senior Transportation Engineers and PostDoc, 33 PhD Candidates, 20 Transportation Engineers and other scientists.

NTUA is the Technical Coordinator of the project and the leader of WP2: MetaInnovate: open smart systems for connected, autonomous and electric zero emission shared mobility (M4 2024-M4 2027).

The main task of NTUA is to develop the MetaInnovations toolkit in order to offer technological and infrastructural solutions (flexibly adjustable, open, resilient and replicable) capable to combine: a) electrification, b) automation, and c) connectivity to enable the implementation of MetaDesigned ZEMS UCs and BIGMs. NTUA also has an important role in the overall monitoring, impact and transferability evaluation, and the lessons learned which are part of the WP4. Finally, NTUA contributes to WP1, with a responsibility to create and collect all information needed for the cities’ available data (Data Map).

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Next S.r.l.

Next is an automotive industry innovator specialising in the production of electric modular vehicles. These cutting-edge vehicles boast the unique ability to connect with each other. Additionally, they feature the innovative design of front and rear doors that can open to create a passageway for passengers, even while in motion. This groundbreaking technology holds the promise of revolutionising the public transport system by significantly reducing traffic congestion, enhancing flexibility to meet real-time demand, and optimising energy consumption.

Next’s product performance is drastically improved through the implementation of autonomous driving. In this project Next has to develop ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) that will allow multiple pods to be summoned and automatically arranged and docked together, parked pods to automatically and autonomously start and dock to the vehicle running on the road, running pods to automatically and autonomously park in a reserved parking place. Furthermore, Next potential will be tested inside the Milan LL.

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nextbike Cy Ltd

nextbike Cyprus is the license operator of the new innovative way to cycle your way around the city. An ideal climate-friendly solution as a means of transportation and for a leisurely ride. Nextbike Cyprus introduced the Public Bike Sharing system from all around the world to Cyprus with bikes available 24/7. Our fleet consists of 1800 bikes and we operated in all cities in Cyprus.

Nextbike Cy Ltd will be part of the Limassol Living Lab and will install docking stations for e-bikes, operate the service and provide data regarding bike rentals. We will advance our platform and app by hosting AI-algorithms from WP2. We will participate in WP1, WP3, WP5 and WP6.

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MVK Miskolc City Transportation Ltd.

The MVK Ltd. (MVK Miskolc City Transportation Ltd.) is a public transport company based in Miskolc, Hungary. Our mission is to provide efficient and reliable transportation services to the residents and visitors of Miskolc. We operate buses and trams, connecting various neighbourhoods, ensuring mobility, and contributing to the city’s sustainable development.
The company currently operates 36 bus services on a total line length of 165.2, and 3 tram services on a total line length of 12.7 km.
MVK Ltd. transports nearly 200,000 people every day.

As a “follower city” in the metaCCAZE project, MVK Ltd., the public transport operator of Miskolc, is actively involved in promoting sustainable urban mobility. Our role involves collaborating with other cities, sharing best practices, and implementing innovative solutions to enhance public transportation, reduce emissions, and improve the overall quality of life for our community.
We are planning digital and physical innovations to seamlessly integrate e-scooters into our city’s transport system. Additionally, we will extend our journey planning and traffic information application with new functions. Our goal is to develop a multimodal journey planner that considers awareness parameters and optimizes activity chains to reduce CO2 emissions.

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Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works

The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works is responsible for Malta’s connectivity, including the maritime and aviation industries, for both domestic and international travel. The Ministry prepares Malta for modern challenges and the modern economy, from the way we travel — via public transportation and the decarbonization of the transportation sector — to the infrastructure we rely on every day. This requires the planning, design, and implementation of several capital projects that have had a significant impact on mobility in the country over the past few years and on which families, businesses, and visitors depend.

MTIP’s role in the MetaCCAZE project is to create collaborative co-design initiatives and foster robust engagement with citizens and stakeholders. Throughout the project the Ministry will ensure that the aims and outcomes of this project are inline with the evolving needs of the Maltese citizens while further promoting sustainable development in Malta.

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MALTA PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Malta public transport (MPT) is the only public transport operator in Malta that started their operation in 2015. Our fleet is made up of over 400 diesel buses and 33 electric buses.
MPT’s transportation system is characterized by its extensive bus network, serving both locals and tourists across the islands of Malta (Malta & Gozo).

MPT’s transportation system plays a crucial role in facilitating mobility and reducing traffic congestion on the two islands.

MPT is aiming to increase their zero – emission fleet.

The objective is to demonstrate an on-demand automated e-bus service across several routes to understand how this new service can be designed effectively and attract new users. Essentially, it is aimed to understand the feasibility of deploying such service in a larger scale, assess aspects like accessibility, cost-effectiveness, safety, and equity. The autonomous bus is planned to be utilized both in Gozo and Malta.

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MobiLysis

MobiLysis offers an all-in-one service which helps cities identify causes of traffic congestion and get solutions towards sustainable mobility. We focus on revolutionizing urban mobility monitoring and analysis using drone technology. We leverage interdisciplinary expertise in fields such as traffic engineering, route optimization, machine learning, and automatic control to develop cutting-edge solutions. By deploying drone swarms equipped with high definition cameras and by utilizing state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms, we collect high-quality, comprehensive data on mobility patterns across various transportation modes, including “soft modes” like bicycles and scooters, as well as pedestrian traffic in a privacy friendly way.

MobiLysis main’s role in metaCCAZE will be to design and conduct drone experiments to support the activities and the development of the methodologies in Limassol, Paris and Krakow.

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MaaSLab

MaaSLab is a pioneer research-based institute focusing on developing cutting-edge solutions, platforms and studies for making the transport sector and our cities sustainable and climate neutral. MaaSLab has a range of projects worldwide, covering sustainable mobility, electric mobility, on-demand transport, connected cooperative and autonomous mobility, self-driving vehicles, multimodality, integration, resilience, and equity – everything that will make our future mobility easier, smarter, and more sustainable. MaaSLab started its operations in an academic environment in London, and after almost 10 years of operations, it has now established itself independent institute.

Maaslab is one of the core partners of metaCCAZE acting as the S&T Manager for Social Innovation & Living Labs aspects, as well as the Impact Evaluation Manager. MaaSLab also leads tasks related to social embracement and travel behaviour change exploration. MaaSLab also leads the development of two out of the six metaInnovations, the AI-based data warehouse (metaInnovation – Harmonise) and the Digital Twin (metaInnovation: Integrate & Planning). It also develops metaInnovations related to incentivisation engines for optimising the grid-fleet supply-demand triangle, as well as an on-demand platform for optimising the electric public transport fleet and the demand. MaaSLab is the supporter of the Limassol Living Lab. Finally, it also leads the ethics and data management plan of metaCCAZE.

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Limassol Municipality

Limassol is the second largest city in Cyprus with a province population of 262.238 inhabitants. The population of Limassol Municipality is 108.105 inhabitants and it’s the largest municipality in terms of population and the second one in terms of urban area.
Limassol is well known among the rest of the cities in Cyprus for it rich nightlife, its cosmopolitan character and its cultural tradition. It is also the largest port city on the island and one the largest ones in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Limassol is considered to be the industrial centre of the whole of Cyprus with 350 industrial units. The development of tourism in the city took a new turn after the Turkish invasion of 1974 when the Famagusta and Kyrenia the main tourists resorts at that time were occupied.

As a partner of the project, the Municipality of Limassol together with other local partners will implement a series of measures aimed at improving traffic congestion and reducing the use of private vehicles.
The measures to be implemented by Limassol Municipality within the framework of the project are:

  • The construction of a mobility hub (modern spaces with facilities that will offer the citizens the possibility to park their cars and continue their movement with public buses, bicycles or other means of sustainable mobility towards the city centre.
  • The provision of an on-demand service for the transfer of high school students to and from school and to their afternoon activities. Students as well as parents will be able to use an application to call mini-buses that will be used exclusively by students. The platform that will be developed will use Al in order to find the best possible routes for the students.
  • A platform designed for schools so that parents can drive more students to school in one car, thus avoiding traffic congestion around schools during drop off and pick up hours.
  • Further development and upgrading of EMEL and NEXTBIKE fleets with smart systems.

All of the above mentioned actions will be developed in close cooperation with the citizens, local and national stakeholders.

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City of Munich

With a population of over 1.5 million, Munich is a major transportation hub in Europe. In 2021, Munich City Council adopted an overall strategy for mobility “Mobility Strategy 2035“, with a concrete goal of at least 80% of traffic in the Munich city area will be carried out by zero-emission vehicles by 2025, public transport, walking and cycling. The city has a robust public transport system, with public transport accounting for 24% of mode share and cycling and pedestrians making up a significant portion as well. Various shared mobility modes are available throughout the city, including car-sharing, bike-sharing, electric moped-sharing, and scooter-sharing. The initial measures for inner-city commercial transport as a part of the sub-strategy ‘Urban Logistics’ consists of many sustainable innovative approaches to strengthen and accelerate Munich’s commercial traffic with a goal to achieve sustainable and efficient supply of goods, and at the same time improve traffic safety and the quality of life and emissions are to be significantly reduced by 2035.

In the context of metaCCAZE, Munich Living Lab will serve as a testbed for innovative solutions for urban logistics to address the challenge of space scarcity and sharp increase of Urban deliveries. In Munich, use cases for innovative logistics hubs, solutions for first and last mile logistics, dynamic Curbside management and the operation of a small, emission-free automated vehicle for passenger and freight transport will be tested. The aim is to shift freight transport to electrically assisted cargo bikes or compact electric vehicles and to optimise the use of limited public space through effective and targeted digitalisation and networking solutions. In addition, digitalisation options for parking space management are also to be tested in Munich, such as dynamic parking space usage and digitalisation of the Curbside management, in which different user groups (e.g. shared mobility or e-charging/delivering/loading) are prioritised. The project aligns with the European Green Deal’s goals, including Munich’s aim for 100% climate neutrality by 2035.

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HC Linear Ltd.

HC Linear has been a hub for pioneering electronical and software R&D solutions. Our versatile team specializes in crafting tailor-made software, hardware, data analytics, and services, addressing both unique and common challenges.

While our portfolio contains a diverse range of innovative R&D solutions across various industries, our predominant focus over the past decade has been on revolutionizing the public transport sector.

The Living Lab of Miskolc aims to integrate e-scooters into the city’s transport system, with HC Linear playing a pivotal role in the digital domain. MobilON, a journey planning and traffic information mobile application developed by HC Linear, will be extended with new features using the activity chain optimization model created by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) to support an integrated system with e-scooters. This development aims to promote micro-mobility and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions within the application framework. Our collaboration with the BME and MVK underscores the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in achieving our project goals.

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Municipality of Krakow (Public Transport Authority in Krakow)

Krakow is the second largest city in Poland; the city hall hires approx. 3000 employees. The city has rich experience with EU co-financed projects, both investment and non-investment ones (total number of Kraków’s international partnership projects completed or in progress is 89) and continuously introduce activities to develop sustainable multimodal urban mobility.

On behalf of the City of Krakow the Public Transport Authority in Krakow (ZTP) will be involved in this project. It is a budgetary unit of the City of Krakow and might be seen as a municipal mobility agency. ZTP is responsible for the public transport organization in Krakow and neighbouring communes, the P+R, cycling and walking systems management, development of the paid parking zone in Krakow and the city information system as well as the sustainable mobility promotion. ZTP continuously increases its involvement in mobility management activities, multidisciplinary projects and new services for citizens to improve their life quality. One of newest project is to develop the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Krakow that aims on improvement of the air quality. The ZTP activities are implemented with the engagement of citizens, which allows to build the awareness of the need for changes and meet the stakeholder’s expectations. ZTP recently realised Interreg Central Europe projects – LOW-CARB (2017-2020) and Dynaxibility4CE (2020-2022), which allowed to gain new experience in the planning and implementation of low-carbon, active, sustainable mobility for functional urban areas. In previous years Krakow was involved also in other European mobility projects, including these co-financed by the EC Framework Programmes, e.g. CIVITAS CARAVEL (2005-2009), CIVITAS CATALIST (2007-2012), PARK4SUMP (2018-2022), HANDSHAKE (2018-2022).

ZTP is planning to launch an e-bike and e- cargo bike rental system at the newly built Kraków Grzegórzki station. The next level of the system will be the launch of an e-bike hub. The subject of the investment will be an e-bike and e-cargo bike station located within the transport hub at the SKA Grzegórzki station, serving as a transfer and reloading point. The implementation of the project will contribute to an improvement in the quality of services connected with the integration of the two complementary forms of ecological transport in Krakow. Improving the quality of service in terms of the use of modern, emission-free electric and e-cargo bicycles, increasing travel comfort and reducing travel time will contribute to an increase in the share of green transport.

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Municipality of Amsterdam

The Municipality of Amsterdam serves as the local government for the city of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. As an organization, it is responsible for a wide range of services and regulations that affect daily life in the city. This includes, but is not limited to, urban planning and development, education, public order and safety, environmental and waste management, social affairs, mobility, and cultural activities. The Municipality of Amsterdam aims to create a liveable, sustainable, and inclusive city for its residents, businesses, and visitors, through policies and projects focused on improving urban infrastructure, promoting economic growth, and ensuring social cohesion. With a democratically elected city council and a college of mayor and aldermen at the helm, the municipality works closely with citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders to meet the city’s needs.

The municipality of Amsterdam will support and host a living lab within the metaccaze project. In the project the municipality aims to represent the needs of the citizens, visitors and businesses in the city to ensure that all pilots contribute to positively these individual groups. Additionally, on a practical level this involves ensuring that all permissions and approvals are arranged for the execution of the pilot.

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Floware

Floware develops an innovative mobility flow analysis solution for private and public operators in the European metropolitan areas and cities. The strength of our technology comes from the integration of our innovative sensors, modelling and simulation tools, driven by a strategic decision-making assistance software. From the edge to the cloud, all our bricks are reinforced by AI, to ensure the scalability of our solution. The result: highly accurate, secure and anonymized data that can be used in a wide range of use cases, for an increasingly fluid, low-carbon and sustainable mobility.

Floware develops new mobility flow measurement technologies to provide the Paris Area Living Lab with a complete tool for a diagnosis of the mobility flows and their projected impact on traffic and air quality before, during and after the project’s operations. This will help the policymakers in the Yvelines Department in the strategic piloting of the developments in the Poissy Area. Floware will develop a new prototype of their Edge AI sensors to collect extensive and complete data, in coordination with Vedecom’s connected vehicles.

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Factual Consulting

FACTUAL is a foresight strategy and innovation consultancy firm focused on mobility. Our secret sauce combines strategic foresight consultancy, international cooperation through R&D projects, in-house incubation, piloting, and commercialisation of new and disruptive mobility concepts.

Our team of seasoned professionals possesses expert industry knowledge, which enables us to identify and leverage the evolving mobility market dynamics to anticipate trends. Thereby, we are among the most innovative players in the market, helping our clients stay ahead of the curve and become industry leaders.

In the MettaCCAZE project, FACTUAL has the pivotal role of coordinating the Integration of Innovations & Demonstrations across the Trailblazer Cities. This includes managing, orchestrating, and coordinating activities across all Trailblazer Living Labs while incorporating information, outcomes, and requirements from other project activities. Additionally, FACTUAL spearheads the impact assessment and contributes to the NetZero vision and sustainability objectives by evaluating environmental, land, and economic costs and benefits. Finally, as part of project management responsibilities, FACTUAL oversees quality assurance and risk management throughout the project lifecycle.

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ERTICO – ITS Europe

ERTICO – ITS Europe is a public-private partnership of 120 companies and organisations representing service providers, suppliers, the traffic and transport industry, research, public authorities, user organisations, mobile network operators, and vehicle manufactures.

ERTICO embodies thought leadership and fosters stakeholder engagement; Together with our partners, we develop, promote and deploy Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) through a variety of activities, including European co-funded projects, innovation platforms, international cooperation, advocacy and events. ERTICO is the organiser of the annual ITS regional and global Congress in Europe. Our work focuses on Connected, Cooperative & Automated Mobility, Urban Mobility, Clean & Eco-Mobility, and Transport & Logistics.

In metaCCAZE, the ERTICO team oversees the creation of collaborative business innovation and governance models called metaDesigns. Additionally, ERTICO supports the implementation roadmaps and roll-out plans for MetaCCAZE’s Living Labs and beyond. The team also leads the MetaSkills Hub task, aimed at continuously enhancing expertise in zero emission shared mobility providing training opportunities. ERTICO will facilitate liaison efforts for dissemination and exploitation activities with partners such as 2ZERO, CCAM, Mobilities4EU, EGUM, and CIVITAS. Collaboratively with STEINBEIS, they support the metaCCAZE’s communication and dissemination activities.

Finally, as project coordinator, ERTICO supports project partners and cities in meeting their objectives on time, through efficient administration and coordination.

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EMEL LTD (Limassol Public Bus Transport Company)

EMEL Ltd is the exclusive provider of Public Bus Transportation in Limassol Cyprus since 2010, securing its second decade-long contract with the Ministry of Transportation in 2022. In 2023, we strengthened our fleet with 177 new buses, including 35 electric minibuses, making EMEL Ltd the pioneer in introducing electric buses to Cyprus. Our dedication lies in elevating the commuting experience for both residents and visitors. We prioritize safety, reliability, and comfort, constantly refining our services to meet community needs while also striving towards a future of zero emissions.

EMEL Ltd will provide 4 electric minibuses with drivers to supply the on-demand services which will firstly begin with students.

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Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) was founded in 1782 and is one of the largest higher educational institutions in engineering in Central Europe. The university holds an international reputation for excellence in engineering. The Department of Transport Technology and Economics has been carrying out research and education in the interdisciplinary fields of transportation engineering and economics, focusing on strategic and operative planning, operation and management, decision support in transport, evaluation and control of transport networks, analysis of passenger and freight transport processes with regard to transport safety and sustainability.

BME is interested to receive relevant information about existing mobility initiatives and best practices. We want to take part in the development of new concepts and tools, which are in line with European trends. The analysis of best practices and the highlighting of strengths and weaknesses of current initiatives help us to create new seamless mobility strategies. Through the strategies we will be able to define new research directions in the field of mobility and develop new methods of transportation related solutions.

BME will support the organization of the Hungarian Living Lab and the cooperation between the stakeholders. BME will focus on the method development related to the extended functionalities of the journey planner and the creation of the user surveys about travel behavior together with the data analysis of the user expectations, willingness to use, and experience with new mobility solutions. Also, user acceptance and potential impacts will be analyzed. Another task will be the elaboration of the co-creation activities that will enable the realization of a suitable solution for the pilot.

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BABLE Smart Cities

BABLE Smart Cities is Europe’s leading facilitator for Smart and Climate-Neutral Cities. With a decade of experience in the field, BABLE offers practical insights gained by practitioners, for practitioners. BABLE’s mission is to accelerate the change for a better urban life by supporting urban stakeholders in creating sustainable, innovative, and inclusive cities and towns. BABLE free platform connects innovators and the public sector, providing access to the most comprehensive Smart City datasets and insights in Europe. With 7+ regional offices across Europe, it combines local knowledge with global best practices to implement more projects faster.

BABLE Smart Cities is responsible for supporting transition in urban environments through business models (exploitation lead) and is driving up activities aiming for metaCCAZE’s organic growth and multiply innovative LLs (WP4 lead) and adoption co-creation communities across Europe.

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ANAPLASSIS S.A.

Athens Anaplassis S.A. is a state-owned entity, established in 2018, for the preparation, planning, implementation, and management of sustainable urban interventions of private, public, municipal, cultural and other infrastructures in the City of Athens. The projects of Athens Anaplassis S.A. aim for the regeneration, upgrade and revival of the public space and urban landscape, its economic, social and cultural development and the improvement of the quality of life of the areas of intervention through environmentally, technically and aesthetically sound, innovative, and advanced practices.

Since December 2023, Athens Anaplassis S.A. was renamed Anaplassis S.A. and it can now undertake projects all over Greece. Anaplassis S.A. is currently leading a series of Engineering and Design Studies and Public Construction Projects, working closely with public authorities, the municipality of Athens and other stakeholders such as public and private entities, Universities and NPOs.

Anaplassis S.A. is going to contribute to co-design activities and participate in Living Labs and Meta design activities along with NTUA and OASA S.A. Taking advantage of our established collaboration with other public sector authorities and entities, including the municipality of Athens, we are to going to generate visibility and communicate metaCCAZE best practices and lessons learned from the project’s Living Labs. By inviting relevant stakeholders and citizens to communication and dissemination activities, we will set the ground for constructive dialogues with the PT operator (OASA S.A.) in order to facilitate behavioural change and increase passengers‘ acceptance.

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Argaleo

Argaleo offer digital twins for sustainable, safe and livable cities. With our digital twin platform we support decision-and policy maker with datadriven insight to create better cities.

In the metaCCaze project we will support the living labs in connecting data and models to create valuable insights in sustainable en zero emission mobility through our digital twin platform.

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Agency for Mobility Environment and Territory

AMAT, i.e. Agenzia Mobilità Ambiente e Territorio (Agency for Mobility Environment and Territory), is a consulting company, totally owned by the City of Milan, committed to providing strategic planning and technical studies for urban mobility and environment quality. 

Due to its multidisciplinary competence, AMAT supports the City of Milan in the following working areas: Mobility Planning and Implementation, Energy Efficiency, CO2 mitigation and adaptation, Circular Economy, Waste Management, Noise, Water resources, Urban Planning and Information Systems and Management. 

AMAT also has considerable experience in developing and managing R&D projects in several European Programmes in the field of sustainable mobility, electro-mobility, transport and logistics, energy saving, energy efficiency and urban planning.

AMAT is the project manager of the pilot demonstration in the city of Milan in which an innovative on-demand public transport service will be launched, allowing users to switch vehicles along the route as needed, aiming to enhance service quality and efficiency. 

On the side of the pilot coordination role, AMAT is responsible for the development of the service simulator as well the metadesign activities to enable the new public transport service planning and operation.

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Local Public Transport Agency for the mobility basin of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia

ATPL is the authority in charge of planning and monitoring local public transport services, managing the fare system and handling contracts with public transport operators in the Metropolitan City of Milan and the provinces of Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia.

ATPL role is to handle the testing phase of Milan’s use case: finding the suitable test site, authorizing the public transport service, handling the service contract to a bus operator and monitoring its execution.

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Local Public Transport Agency for the mobility basin of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia

ATPL is the authority in charge of planning and monitoring local public transport services, managing the fare system and handling contracts with public transport operators in the Metropolitan City of Milan and the provinces of Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia.

ATPL role is to handle the testing phase of Milan’s use case: finding the suitable test site, authorizing the public transport service, handling the service contract to a bus operator and monitoring its execution.

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