The mobility transition is one of the most important means of averting the impending climate catastrophe. The Dutch start-up MobiFi is relying on an innovative concept for this.
Politicians and scientists agree: averting climate change is one of the greatest tasks of the global community. When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report in early August, alarm bells rang internationally. 1.5 degrees global warming by 2030 was the sobering finding of the report. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres found clear words for this: “Greenhouse gas emissions are strangling our planet and thereby endanger billions of people”. One of the most important countermeasures that politicians have proclaimed as a short to medium-term goal is the mobility transition. Away from the combustion engine to the electric motor; less private transport, more use of local public transport.
In order to force these goals, it also takes persuasion. At the beginning of September, the market research institute Norstat asked German citizens about their willingness to adapt their mobility behavior to the demands of the climate crisis. The result: “Climate protection yes, higher costs no”. And although the problem is more complex, some projects try to provide answers – one of them is MobiFi.
MobiFi: “Convince users with incentives”
That Blockchain project from the Netherlands wants to master the challenges of the mobility transition with the help of a Mobility-as-a-Service platform. Above all, one addresses big cities. This is where MobiFi sees the greatest need for action. With incentives, the aim is to playfully convince users to steer their mobility behavior in more climate-friendly channels. In the future, other mobility companies and insurance companies will come together on the platform in order to promote and offer more sustainable transport options. A dual token system is used for this. On the one hand the SMile token, which is used as a stablecoin for payments on the platform, and on the other hand the MoFi token, which users can exchange for SMile in order to gain access to DeFi and staking functions. Excess “credit” can be increased in this way, says MobiFi.
One of the project’s concerns is initially focused on getting parked cars off the streets in order to enable smoother traffic. The dedicated app suggests inexpensive indoor parking spaces to users. Customers drive into the respective parking garage, confirm their arrival and when leaving, the corresponding parking time is automatically billed via the own payment network. MobiFi founder and CEO Yudi Xu told BTC-ECHO:
We will start our business model at the end of the year in cooperation with a small parking provider. We would like to initially cover 105 cities in the Netherlands. Further features such as scooter or bike sharing are to be added later. But first, let’s focus on parking.
MobiFi founder and CEO Yudi Xu told BTC-ECHO
Project still in the “alpha” phase
As a start-up, MobiFi has so far been able to collect 2.8 million US dollars from an ICO. There is currently no further financial support in the form of venture capital. In general, the idea of a platform for sustainable mobility offers is certainly beneficial to the environment. Rewarding users through incentives such as staking is also an innovative form of awareness-raising. However, the project is still in the “alpha” phase, which is why a full offer is likely to be in the distant future. You can read here how blockchain technology can revolutionize our mobility sector in general.