Elevated road concept envisions emission-free two-wheeler mobility in megacities

The world over, particularly in developed market, automakers are working on visionary mobility solutions that go well beyond established conventions. The BMW Group is among those working on innovations that go beyond the conventional vehicle.

As urbanisation progresses, more and more people are crowding into cities, so conventional mobility concepts and local public transportation are reaching the limits of their capability. Congestion and high levels of air pollution are the result, which in turn leads to constraints on the quality of life.

The BMW Group's ‘Research, New Technologies, Innovations’ division is a competence centre that is devoted to addressing this and other challenges. “Our goal is to link sustainable and efficient mobility with a high quality of living in cities. We use new technologies as well as our creativity in order to create innovative approaches as the BMW Vision E³ Way,” says Dr Gerd Schuster, senior vice-president – Research, New Technologies and Innovations.

The BMW Group Technology Offices in Mountain View (CA), Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ensure proximity to the world's technological hotspots, while a central department for trend and technology scouting collates and supplements the insights acquired in the field. Once challenges and needs have been identified, they are then fed into concrete research projects.

BMW Vision E³ Way
Developed at the BMW Group Technology Office China in Shanghai, the BMW Vision E³ Way project shows a visionary mobility concept that is designed not just to specifically address the challenges faced by megacities – such as traffic congestion and air pollution – but to provide a solution that is both simple and effective.

It consists of an elevated road concept for electrically powered two-wheel vehicles which links key traffic hubs in urban conurbations (region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area).

The three Es stand for ‘elevated’, ‘electric’ and ‘efficient’ – the concept's defining properties. The use of roadways that are elevated above existing roads means the project generates additional traffic capacity. BMW says the Vision E³ Way is explicitly conceived for locally emission-free single-track mobility concepts only (‘electric’), such as e-bikes, the BMW Motorrad Concept Link and the recently presented BMW Motorrad X2 City – likewise developed by the Research, New Technologies, Innovations division.

The elevated road is simple and modular in design, economical to build as a result, and provides a fast, direct link between key traffic hubs, making it the perfect alternative for commuters travelling up to 15km. This makes use of the elevated road very efficient not only in terms of cost but also as regards travel time (‘efficient’).

"The BMW Vision E³ Way opens up a whole new dimension of mobility in overcrowded conurbations – efficient, convenient and safe. It works by simply creating space for two-wheel zero-emissions traffic," explains Dr. Markus Seidel, Director BMW Group Technology Office China. "In China, more than a billion people will be living in cities by 2050. The country will become the global incubator for numerous mobility innovations such as the BMW Vision E ³ Way," Seidel adds, "after all, nowhere else is there such an urgent need for action."

The BMW Vision E³ Way concept has been developed in collaboration with the Tongji University in Shanghai. The university possesses outstanding expertise in a number of areas that are relevant to the concept. Headed by the renowned Professor Jun Ma, various departments as the School of Automotive Studies, as well as the College of Design and Innovation, were involved in the project.

Emission-free and safe: Ramps and sluice systems are used to connect the Vision E³ Way to the regular road network, underground stations, other traffic hubs, and even shopping malls. By shifting single-track mobility to its own spatial level, the Vision E³ Way makes daily commuting not just faster but safer, too.

The fact that is used solely by electrically powered two-wheel vehicles means that collisions with cars are ruled out. The general risk of accidents is further reduced by means of an automatic speed limit of 25kph. In addition, there is an elaborate system of lanes that separates filtering traffic from flowing traffic: not until travel speed has been reached do the two merge.

Convenient and efficient: BMW says the Vision E ³ Way is not just fast and safe to use, however, it is also convenient. Those who do not already own a vehicle approved for the Vision E³Way can still use the facility spontaneously by means of a sharing scheme that provides rental vehicles at each access point. The elevated road is largely roofed over, ensuring protection from rain and heat as well as sufficient ventilation. A cooling system with purified rainwater creates pleasant temperatures: this can also be used to clean the road surface at night.

The standout feature of the Vision E³ Way concept is that it takes existing emission-free mobility solutions on two wheels such as e-bikes and the BMW Motorrad X2 City and places them on a new traffic level: this means the vision can be realised quickly and without the need for additional space.

Initial feasibility studies demonstrate that a concept such as the BMW Vision E³ Way can significantly reduce congestion, emissions, travel time and the risk of accidents. Traffic flow is permanently optimised by means of automated video surveillance systems and artificial intelligence as well as through the integration of smart city ecosystems. And the best thing is that its modular design and free scalability make the concept essentially suitable for use in any megacity.

Premium solutions in the future, too. The BMW Vision E³ Way is just one possible solution to the question "What will move us (forward) in the future?" At the same time, it exemplifies the innovative spirit of the BMW Group – its capacity to produce concepts such as this that extend far beyond the conventional vehicle context. "Our aspiration in the future will continue to be innovation and technology leadership at the premium level," explains Dr. Rainer Daude, Project Director Special Projects and Mobility Concepts. "The very meaning of the term 'premium' will change in future too, of course. Attributes such as 'straightforward', 'convenient', 'efficient', 'safe' and 'emission-free' are becoming increasingly important. In concrete terms, this means being able to offer solutions that meet all mobility needs, with the capacity to make better use of travel time and/or to cover distances in less time – offering the highest possible level of safety, convenience and efficiency."

The BMW Vision E³ Way forms part of the BMW Group strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT. which aims for the transformation and shaping of the individual mobility of the future.