Shared mobility for rural areas

The project aimed to offer shared mobility solutions that were practical, resource-efficient, and climate-friendly.

The project had broad participation and investigated and tested various options that were resource- and climate-efficient without adding new private vehicles. The aim was to enable both residents and visitors to easily access services and commute to work within the municipality or tourist destination. The project ran until October 2023.

What was new in Vemdalen during the project?
Here in Vemdalen, there was a digital service via the Freelway app to coordinate existing transport to, from, and within the destination for both staff and visitors.

Visitors downloaded the Freelway app. The app showed visible and, to some extent, bookable options such as Inlandsbanan train departures, Snälltåget bus transfers, Härjedalingen departures, Länstrafiken departures, and Snöpendeln ski bus departures. It was also possible to book taxis and rental cars and find charging stations for electric cars. The long-term goal was for all transportation to be bookable directly in the app, but during the project period, some services were bookable while others linked to their respective booking systems.

Ahead of summer 2022, the Freeway app was supplemented with a travel planner that showed all public transport throughout Sweden and combined journeys from, for example, Boden to Lofsdalen without a car. The function was opened via the search field at the top of the app under Journeys.

The project also tested a digital carpooling service through Freelway for all staff in the area. Using the app, staff could post planned trips that were still going ahead, and those without a car could request rides. Based on the trips entered, matches were made between journeys and fellow passengers.

The hope was to find solutions to better coordinate existing transport services, make them more accessible and easier to book, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and enable more people to travel to and within the destination without a car.

Other participants in the project (apart from companies affiliated with Destination Vemdalen AB) were Härjedalen Municipality, Berg Municipality, Östersund Municipality, Destination Inlandsbanan, Destination Funäsfjällen, Lofsdalen Tourist Industry Economic Association, Fjällhubben, Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Freelway, KTH, Adaptive Media, and Sustainable Innovation. The project was partially funded by Vinnova and ran until September 2023.

Do you have questions about the project? Email info@vemdalen.se