The Future Shapers: bloXmove – The Fresh Face of Frictionless Urban Mobility

Editor’s introduction: Earlier this year, The Moodie Davitt Report launched a new editorial series called The Future Shapers which explores technologies, ESG initiatives and other visionary innovations that are changing our world for the better.

In this edition we examine bloXmove, a young start-up that is looking to harness the power of blockchain to revolutionise the urban travel journey on a truly global scale.

While a COVID-ravaged world faces an unprecedented disruption of our ability to travel and connect seamlessly, we continue to see a rise in innovators leveraging disruptive technology to challenge the status quo. In the process, they are pioneering transformative approaches to how we travel on both a global and urban basis.

The team at bloXmove are building an innovative new solution to create a frictionless experience as people move from cars and taxis, scooters and bikes to buses and trains – and even aircraft eventually – and the multitude of platforms and service providers that this typically entails.

Sophia Rödiger is the dynamic CEO and co-founder of bloXmove, a mobility blockchain platform which enables mobility providers to seamlessly implement their offerings into a global alliance.

Ms Rödiger worked for over seven years in innovation, transformation and marketing in the digital mobility environment at German premium vehicle manufacturer Daimler, where she most recently led the global Startup Hub and the global transformation team. Before founding bloXmove, she successfully launched the consultancy MountainMinds, which provides sustainable support to companies in their transformation processes in the digital world.

Recognising her qualities of leadership and innovation, Sophia Rödiger was recently announced as one of three finalists in the mobility category of the Digital Female Leader Awards.  She is passionate about driving real world application of emerging new digital technology.

Here we examine the bloXmove platform, the blue-chip heritage behind it, and the philosophy that underpins the founder’s strategy.

Source: bloXmove (Click to enlarge)

What is bloXmove and what problem does it solve?

bloXmove is a decentralised mobility blockchain platform that connects diverse mobility service providers in one global alliance: from cars and taxis, scooters and bikes to buses and trains.

Its creators are not simply creating the next aggregator app, but rather have developed a cutting-edge software infrastructure based on distributed ledger technology and digital identifiers.

Over the preceding decade we have seen the transformation of urban transport and mobility with the emergence of the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) model. Shared bicycles. Shared cars. Shared scooters. But despite the proliferation of new transport modes the ecosystem remains highly fragmented.  All of these services result in many different touch points and payment interfaces which in turn cause friction through the traveller journey.

[On the move in every sense: bloXmove announced last night that it had closed its token presales rounds for a total in excess of US$3 million. Not only did the enterprise fill and oversubscribe the initially planned rounds but after consultation with investors another round of over US$1 million closed in under ten days, having again been oversubscribed. bloXmove is now preparing for its public launch; see contact details at foot of page.]

Ms Rödiger comments: “If you look at your smartphone, you’ll see an average of 20-30 different mobility apps. And when you spontaneously need the scooter at the station, you notice that you don’t have this app installed on your device. The mobility market is so fragmented and confusing that many people don’t even want to overcome this hurdle and prefer to use their car.

“Some initial models are trying to solve this fragmentation and lack of connectivity between individual providers in a city. And that’s just one challenge in the mobility ecosystem.”

Leveraging the power of blockchain and decentralised ledger technology (DLT), bloXmove is a B2B mobility blockchain platform that enables mobility providers to implement their offerings in a global alliance. Through the platform, they can offer their respective services and become part of an alliance of different providers. End users, on the other hand, benefit from seamless travel booking, paying and accessing the services with just one application.

“It’s a decentralised infrastructure that enables the frictionless mobility of people in and around urban areas,” Ms Rödiger explains. “With bloXmove, end users verify their credentials once and use those credentials with all mobility partners in the ecosystem. One payment is made and money is distributed within the network. The main customer benefit is frictionless travel and urban transport.”

A critical benefit for mobility partners in the ecosystem is that bloXmove is neither a centralised host nor aggregator that charges a high commission to participate in the network. The bloXmove ecosystem encourages innovation and opens up new lines of communication between partnering entities.

The application of blockchain technology enables service providers to maintain control of their customer relationships and, importantly, brings greater cost efficiencies to players within the urban mobility ecosystem.

bloXmove Co-Founder, Chairman and CTO Harry Behrens

Ms Rödiger comments, “What affects all mobility providers in the cities is the issue of cost efficiency because we are in a market with micro-payment and high price sensitivity of customers, as well as the sustainability issue. It requires new intelligent concepts based on green energy use; more connectivity between providers; and the re-education of society towards more alternatives to cars.”

A key differentiator of the bloXmove platform is that it effectively enables the decentralisation of an entire ecosystem.  “The advantage of such a collaborative model is obvious. Each partner focuses on what they do best,” Ms Rödiger says. “These strengths are bundled; everyone meets on an equal footing and can offer more together – thus ensuring each partner in the ecosystem can offer their customers this end-to-end journey without losing customer contact.”

Daimler Mobility heritage

While bloXmove is a newly founded start up, its roots trace back to software incubated by Daimler Mobility AG – the manufacturer’s global financial and mobility services provider. There, Sophia Rödiger and bloXmove Co-Founder Harry Behrens led the development of the software project over the previous three years as part of the company’s Blockchain Factory initiative.

In May 2021, Daimler announced its decision to license the software to bloXmove with the goal of facilitating further developments of the project, further network enlargement and enable greater engagement with ecosystem partners.

“We believe in the future of blockchain technology. By granting the software license, we want to make it possible for the platform to be used for other areas of application and thus to reach its full potential. I am very pleased that our successful pilot project is now being continued and further developed at bloXmove” said Daimler Mobility Chief Technology Officer Carmen Roth-Schäfer when the licensing agreement was announced this June.

A journey towards adoption

With pilot programmes scheduled to roll out over the coming one to two years, the team at bloXmove are aware that the journey to adoption is not going to be a linear one. While some cities such as Dubai and Singapore are already at the forefront of urban mobility innovation, bloXmove recognizes that delivering adoption on a global scale will rely on a network effect.

“We know that smart incentives, smart business development and strategic alignment with key partners in the ecosystem will be a critical enabler of driving adoption at a global scale,” Ms Rödiger concludes. “This will enable BloXmove to implement our innovative model for cooperative mobility and frictionless traveller experiences.”

Contacts:

Web: bloXmove.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bloXmove

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