Jalon Mobility Awards : What’s new with our 2020 winners? (Part 1)

Our 2020 edition of the Jalon Mobility Awards rewarded Quebec’s agents of change in sustainable mobility across nine categories. In total, ten prizes and eight mentions were awarded, as well as a Coup de cœur du jury award. What has become of our winners in recent months? How have their award-winning projects evolved? Here’s a look at what they’ve been up to over the past few months.

Active Mobility

Vélo Québec

Located in La Fontaine Park, the Jardin du Petit Monde à Bicyclette is one of the first cycling gardens in Quebec. It consists of a reproduction of the urban environment at a child’s scale, complete with playful modules to develop their motor skills and thematic stations that teach them about road safety. Both fun and educational, the project enables children to practice cycling in a stimulating environment and encourages them to cycle on a daily basis.

Inaugurated in September 2020, the Jardin du Petit Monde à Bicyclette will return to La Fontaine Park in May 2021.

Thanks to funding from Sport et Loisir de l’Île de Montréal as part of its Active Park program, the project will be enhanced with a container and, should the current bicycle shortage continue, young visitors will be able to rent bicycles and balance bikes as needed. Camp Sablon will also host activities on site—something that couldn’t happen at all last year.

Discussions are also underway with JM Court to add a space to the garden dedicated to kids who’d like to learn how to skateboard.

Last but not least, the project has inspired many communities who are currently working to establish similar spaces in their own communities.

Collective Mobility

Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC)

Last June, the RTC launched a mobile payment solution that enables customers to purchase transit tickets anywhere, anytime and without contact. The mobile app complements existing payment methods, including OPUS and cash. In addition, it helpsto provide sanitary operating conditions for customers, partners and employees.

RTC Nomade Payment is developing the project further and aims to gradually integrate the Réseau de transport de la Capitale’s partners into the app. Since mid-December 2020, STLévis’ customers have been able to use the app to buy their own tickets. In February 2021, the RTC also added the general monthly pass to the app.

Freight Logistics

CargoM

This AI-powered system allows the Port of Montreal to quickly identify and prioritize essential goods that Canadians need. The result of a partnership between CargoM, Scale AI, IVADO Labs and the Port of Montreal, the tool promotes the resilience of Canadian businesses and the fluidity of supply chains. In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this solution facilitates decision-making to move pharmaceutical products and other medical equipment without delay. The aim is to reduce the time containers spend in the port by up to 50%, while taking into account daily operational constraints.

Since the beginning of the initiative, the CargO2AI tool has facilitated the logistics of more than 4,000 containers.

Phase II of the project includes the optimization of the priority container identification process, the addition of over 1,000 new items from Quebec government medical lists and the WHO vaccine ingredient list.

Intelligent Mobility in Urban Settings & Start-up Companies

In a Blink

Ideal for operators of public transport fleets, the solution developed by In A Blink transfers all of a vehicle’s data in minutes to create a complete digital twin. All of the operational parameters captured by the vehicle can then be used in the command centre, allowing full diagnostics and quickly identification of problem situations requiring maintenance. This solution leverages the digital intelligence of public transit vehicles and consolidates data to facilitate decision-making, ultimately enabling transit operators to offer better service to passengers by optimizing the performance of their vehicles.

Despite the delays caused by the pandemic and the shortage of semiconductors, In a Blink continued to develop and expand its solution, recruiting software and mechanical design talent, securing its first order and receiving several letters of intent from customers.

The company has received a lot of attention thanks to its two Jalon Mobility Awards in 2020. Several companies and government departments have approached In a Blink to explore various collaborative projects, most notably those developed with Jalon’s support.

After successfully completing Centech’s Acceleration program in March 2021, In a Blink is now part of their Propulsion business incubator program.

Coup de coeur du jury

Cyclistes solidaires

Cyclistes solidaires pour la sécurité alimentaire group is a spontaneous and volunteer-based mobilization of Montreal cyclists who support community action and social economy organizations in their efforts to reach users who are considered vulnerable directly in their homes. The group’s deliveries are mainly food items. To date, the Cyclistes solidaires group has offered its support to 17 organizations in five Montreal neighbourhoods. More than 100,000 meals and food items have been delivered from the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve collective kitchen. Since the group’s inception, 850 cyclists have participated in delivery activities.

Last January, Cyclistes solidaires received a positive response to the call for food security projects organized by the City and the Director of Public Health of the CIUSSS Centre-Sud. The organization will receive funding over the next two years to improve delivery conditions (trailers, safety equipment, isothermal equipment, digital platform to support coordination, etc.), measure the social and environmental impact of their activities, draft open and accessible documentation to support the deployment of similar projects, etc.

In addition, the team worked on the design and testing of a prototype trailer for deliveries. The 2.0 version is being developed to support deliveries in the 2021 season (plans available online). These trailers will be built by Cyclistes solidaires volunteers.

A pilot project for sharing trailers is also being designed in partnership with Solon’s Locomotion project and the Hochelaga Maisonneuve Collective Kitchen. The trailers will be attached with collective locks and will be initially offered to volunteers and employees of Cyclistes solidaires and the CCHM. Eventually, the Cyclistes solidaires group hopes to make this system available to the citizens of the various neighbourhoods in which it operates.

Stay tuned for more information on our six other winners!

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