Staying true to our goal of reducing “car dependency,” Entreautre continues the mobility research it began in 2018 with a rural mobility experiment. Today, we’re shifting focus to the urban landscape, where we envision a solution that fills the gap between cars and bicycles: the 4CYCLES mobility platform.
The urban context is evolving
Urban mobility demands addressing its inherent paradoxes in order to offer solutions that respond to the social, environmental, and economic challenges posed by city life. While cars are increasingly criticized for pollution, they remain “indispensable” to many people worldwide, who would nonetheless prefer them to occupy less urban space.
The expectations of citizens and public policies are guiding the development of infrastructure and measures to improve city living: pedestrian zones, low-emission zones, reduced parking, multimodal lanes, expanded 30 km/h zones, and more. Such transformations are rendering the car, with its bulk and inefficiency, outdated.
"Today, the average speed of cars in cities is below 30 km/h, and it takes an average of 21 minutes to find parking."
In response, a wide array of alternative mobility solutions has emerged. The choices are abundant:
On any given day, you might jump on the metro to work, grab an e-scooter for a lunch break errand, weave through traffic on a bike to reach the car-sharing station for a trip to pick up groceries and the kids. Later, after returning the car, you could take a few steps home, only to order a ride-share to a family dinner that evening (and back). A day of multimodal travel, managed right from your smartphone!
While alternatives are increasingly popular, fundamental changes are heightening the need for transport and dependence on individual cars:
- Urban sprawl
- Changes in work modes (flexible schedules, remote work, and geographically spread-out sectors)
- Greater distances or frequency for leisure activities (weekends, vacations)
- Everyday necessities (groceries, childcare drop-off, etc.)
Despite these changing paradigms, fragmented, desynchronized lifestyles still make the car a necessity!
A Lightweight Mobility Platform
In a future where cars have disappeared from city centers, we envision the development of smaller, lighter vehicles to fulfill needs such as:
- Transporting multiple people
- Transporting goods and equipment
Our proposal is to explore the possibilities of a quadricycle in the form of a platform with four wheels — a hybrid solution between a car and a bike. This concept combines the best of both worlds to imagine a lightweight, stable, and secure vehicle, capable of transporting people and goods on city streets at speeds up to 25 km/h.
There are numerous potential combinations for users, use cases, and territories.
The 4CYCLES platform includes built-in electric motors, a battery, and a steering mechanism within its floor structure, allowing for a wide range of configurations suited to diverse needs:
- A social vehicle for group travel with family or friends
- An alternative vehicle for professionals transporting equipment
- A vehicle adapted for urban deliveries
Intuition confirmed
During a workshop held as part of France Design Week 2022, we invited a group from a medium-sized city to interact with the 4CYCLES model and explore the possibilities offered by this modular mobility platform.
Our intuition was confirmed: there is a demand for a customizable solution.
A friendly vehicle for group travel
A vehicle adapted for urban delivery services
An integrated ecosystem
Beyond its technical specifications, the complexity of a mobility solution lies within the ecosystem that makes its deployment feasible — from infrastructure and financial resources to political support.
In developing the 4CYCLES platform, we must consider service, economic models, and operations. These components extend far beyond design alone and fall outside the agency’s immediate scope. That’s why we focus on creating product solutions that address specific needs for users and operators.
Our proposals must then be integrated into the unique political and economic context of each region that wishes to adopt them.
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