New survey provides insight into the impact of digital mobility in everyday life

A survey of three thousand people carried out by operator Keolis in collaboration with Netexplo, gives new insight into digital mobility expectations in France.

The survey, part of the Digital Mobility Observatory created by Keolis and Netexplo in 2015, gives an overview of digital uses in everyday mobility. Initial findings suggest there are three fundamental expectations of those questioned: connected street furniture, security, and guidance.

Digital mobility sociological profiles

Furthermore, the study proposes new keys to interpreting digital mobility behaviours and identifies three types of sociological profile including, ‘Digi’mobiles’, ‘Connected’ and ‘Offlines’. These profiles are then subdivided into behavioural categories:

• 31% of individuals are Digi’mobiles: they are ‘addicted’ to using their smartphone in their daily mobility and can be subdivided into ‘Autonomous’ (21%) and ‘Hyperactive’ (10%).
• 39% of individuals are Connected: still anchored in Web 1.0, they need help to become the Digi’mobiles of tomorrow. 14% are ‘Followers’ looking for modernity, and 25% are ‘Web-sitters’, searching for simplicity.
• 30% of individuals are Offlines: they almost never use digital services; their primary requirements are social connection and mutual assistance, particularly via digital. They are either ‘Fragile’ (20%) or ‘Isolated’ (10%).

These results highlight important differences in digital mobility uses and needs, as well as common expectations for all profiles.

Keolis believes it is essential to propose digital solutions for everyone, and to take digital access, as well as digital acceleration, into account. Innovation, it says, must continue in the field of smartphone applications, but must also simplify public access to digital solutions, for example using connected street furniture; a ‘communicative environment’ accessible to as many people as possible.

The wider Digital Mobility Observatory project will provide an overview of digital mobility in 13 Smart Cities across five continents: Abidjan, Boston, Dubai, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, London, Lyon, Melbourne, Montreal, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, and Tokyo.

Full results of the survey will be announced in the first half of 2017.