How does Vianova use MDS to help operators collaborate with municipalities?
October 25, 2021
min. read
With the increasing demand for different mobility solutions and their increasing availability, municipalities are the first institutions to benefit from all these new ideas and service providers. Mobility Data Specification (MDS) is a digital tool created for their convenience. It helps municipalities to improve their management of public transportation. This tool is used by ATOM Mobility and many large micro-mobility operators to share ride and vehicle data. This time though the story is about Vianova, a company that goes a step further. This platform aggregates data from many operators and makes them available to municipalities in a visualized form that is easy to understand.
Every municipality should create the right mobility mix for its city. Usually, this is in order to rapidly replace individual cars. Interest from micro-mobility service providers is being regulated by cities with permits, tenders, and continually changing regulations, because, in relation to available parking places and safety, municipalities need to manage public spaces. However, fear of the potential mess resulting from free-floating micro-mobility still exists. What is the right number of vehicles that a city can afford to have? Operators are not interested in short-term collaborations, so what can they expect in the long term? They should plan their business ahead and they can even bring more added value to the city, for example, if they know that they can rely on integrating new means of transportation.
Towards better communication
Vianova is the leading mobility intelligence platform in Europe. The company provides mobility intelligence and mobility management tools to both cities and operators. It is possible for municipalities to see aggregated data from different mobility operators on dashboards so they can understand the utilization of services set up according to regulations. In addition, this data can be easily shared with operators and supervise fleet deployment in the city. “We've seen that this transparency and trust facilitates more direct communication that leads to better collaboration between operators and cities striving to deploy micro-mobility,” says Thibault Castagne, Co-Founder & CEO of Vianova.
Based on the data available, municipalities can plan new infrastructure deployments, draw up the right policies, and integrate micro-mobility into the overall mobility mix. This all can be done with the help of the appropriate analytics. “It is important to understand when, where and what vehicles are located to set up geofencing and mobility hubs, etc. Moreover, those in charge should make sure that everything works properly. In regard to safety - is the infrastructure set up in the right manner? Is there a need for new cycling lanes or speed limits? The mix of sustainability and mobility is really about understanding how these new services can be integrated into the city’s overall multimodal transport system and this is accomplished by understanding origin and destinations, interconnection with public transport, and so on. It can be achieved by sharing data,” says Thibault.
Creating regulations on the spot
The Vianova dashboard is available in a web app so it can be used on any web browser. Anyone with access can see the city view with all providers aggregated on one dashboard. If required, operators can even be contacted via the dashboard. City operators can keep track of violations. It is also possible to see fleet availability and vehicle rotation by district, sub-district, and even keep track of fleet size per provider.
“One very interesting feature is creating regulations,” explains Thibault. “It is possible to create new regulations straight on the map, for example, additional no-go zones. City representatives just have to click “plus” and indicate “I want to create a low-speed zone”. It will be possible to draw a particular zone that will be directly shared with operators. They will then receive an API. Through this API they will be able to continuously receive the city’s new regulations in a digital, machine-readable format that is easy to integrate with fleet management software.” In addition, full analytics reports are available detailing the number of trips per provider, the fleet size per provider, the device rotation and fleet availability, etc.
Operators can see their own mobility insights as well as regulations. They can obtain information about trips, helping them to identify what the most popular origins and most popular destinations are. Moreover, this data is even available for the last six months.
Here are a couple of examples of how cities took the insights provided by Vianova and turned them into very successful infrastructure changes. In Brussels, the city government uses trip telemetry to understand which routes are used by e-scooters and e-bikes the most all around the city. The new cycling lanes that were built after the investigation resulted in a five-fold increase in micro-mobility trips. A similar project that involved planning and management was implemented in Stockholm. New parking racks were built using data that helped to plan the installation, management, and availability.
Equal rights for everyone
However, even with the best data available for all parties, the question arises - is the competition between big micro-mobility players in the market like Void, Lion Bird, Spin, and small service providers fair? Is it even possible for smaller companies to enter the market? Thibault thinks that this is the toughest part of the discussion for municipalities. However, for small market players, it is not that complicated: “The truth is that the difference is not that big. I think that small operators should also show their track record or previous use cases of fleet operations, as well as demonstrate good collaboration with cities. This can provide these companies with the mandate to take part in this micro-mobility service competition. Furthermore, I think that smaller operators could be a better partner for the city because they turn out to be more focused on delivering the right service for that specific city.”
Vianova is a great partner for both operators and cities. The platform offers valuable insights that cities can then use to make their surroundings more sustainable and green by welcoming micro-mobility in a controlled manner.
Interested to learn more about MDS or Vianova? Reach out to our sales team: https://atommobility.com/demo
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Blog
Lime improved GPS. But parking compliance may need more than that
Lime improved GPS from 12m to ~1.5m accuracy - a big step forward for micromobility. 🚀 But parking compliance isn’t just about knowing where a vehicle is - it’s about proving it’s parked correctly. Real-world pilots (like Prague) show that physical verification (e.g. Bluetooth beacons) can significantly outperform GPS when it comes to actual compliance.
March 25, 2026
min. read
Lime just raised the bar for GPS-based parking compliance. But the bigger question is this: when cities want verified parking, is better GPS enough, or do operators need physical proof? That question matters more than ever.
Lime’s new LimeBike rollout in the UK comes with a major location upgrade. Lime says its new bikes can locate themselves to within 1.5 metres, a significant improvement from the roughly 12.3 metres typical in dense urban environments (this means that based on GPS data, a vehicle can be up to 12 meters farther or closer than the reported GPS location. Now this error is just 1.5 meters). That is real progress.
Lime’s upgrade is a meaningful step forward for GPS-based positioning. At the same time, cities are increasingly looking beyond positioning accuracy toward verifiable parking compliance.
Why this matters
Cities are becoming much less tolerant of parking disorder. In Kensington & Chelsea, the council seized 1,000 rental e-bikes by November 2025 and collected more than £81,000 in charges from operators.
That is the real backdrop for every operator today:
- stricter enforcement
- more political pressure
- less room for ambiguity
So yes, better GPS is good news. But it does not automatically mean cities will see parking as “solved.” A vehicle may be near a bay, beside a bay, or slightly outside it. In dense urban areas, that difference matters. Traditional GPS struggles there because of building interference, blocked satellite visibility, and signal reflections.
So the strategic question is no longer:
“Can we improve GPS?”
It is:
“What kind of system gives cities enough confidence to enforce parking rules fairly and consistently?”
What the Prague pilot showed
A European Commission-backed pilot in Prague tested a different approach: Bluetooth-based parking verification.
Across 25 parking locations and 989 parking events, the results were clear:
- 90.6% success rate for SparkPark (Bluetooth infrastructure)
- 38.4% success rate for GPS/GNSS positioning
- Technology readiness advanced from TRL 6 to 8/9
When the goal is verified parking inside a defined zone, infrastructure-based validation can significantly outperform vehicle-only (GPS) positioning.
GPS improvement vs physical verification
Lime’s move shows how far vehicle-side intelligence is improving. SparkPark points to a different model: verify the parking zone itself.
That distinction matters.
- GPS estimates where the vehicle is
- Infrastructure confirms whether it is correctly parked
Those are fundamentally different approach.
Why cities may prefer the second path
One of the key findings from the Prague pilot is not just technical - it is institutional. Cities often rely on operator-provided data to assess compliance. That creates a trust gap. What cities increasingly want:
- independent verification
- reliable compliance data
- less reliance on operator-reported positioning
This is why the conversation is shifting from “better accuracy” → “verifiable proof.”
What this means for ATOM Mobility partners
Parking compliance is becoming more important than ever:
- permit approvals
- permit renewals
- daily operational performance
Operators who can demonstrate verifiable compliance may have a clear advantage.
With ATOM Mobility, partners can explore:
- integration-ready compliance workflows as ATOM Mobility already implemented bluetooth-based parking verification together with SparkPark
- futher support for infrastructure-based validation like SparkPark
- 10x faster deployment without full fleet replacement
Instead of waiting for hardware cycles, operators can move faster and adapt to changing city expectations.
Lime deserves credit for pushing GPS accuracy forward. It is a meaningful step for the industry. But the Prague pilot highlights something equally important:
Micromobility parking may not be solved by better positioning alone. It may also require verification.
Not:
“Where is the vehicle likely parked?”
But:
“Can this parking event be verified with confidence?”
Final thought?
The future of parking compliance is likely evolving across two complementary paths:
Path 1: improve GPS accuracy
Path 2: implement physical verification
The first makes parking smarter. The second makes it more reliable and verifiable.
And in regulated urban mobility, confidence and trust often matter as much as precision.
Want to explore how ATOM Mobility can support stricter parking compliance workflows and how SparkPark technology works alongside the ATOM Mobility platform? Get in touch with our team to discuss integration options and city-facing parking control setups.
Sources:
Lime GPS upgrade announcement:
https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/micromobility/new-lime-bike-upgrade-to-hit-uk-streets-this-month-12568
West Midlands LimeBike rollout:
https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/new-limebike-to-launch-in-west-midlands/
Kensington & Chelsea enforcement data:
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/newsroom/1000-e-bikes-seized-borough
Prague SparkPark pilot (EIT Urban Mobility):
https://marketplace.eiturbanmobility.eu/best-practices/high-precision-parking-for-shared-micromobility-in-prague
SparkPark:
https://sparkpark.no
Blog
ATOM Connect 2026: Bringing the shared micromobility industry together
The micromobility industry doesn’t need another generic mobility conference. 🚫🎤 It needs real conversations between operators who are actually in the field. ⚙️ That’s exactly what ATOM Connect 2026 is built for. 🎯🤝
February 25, 2026
min. read
The shared mobility industry is evolving rapidly. Operators are navigating scaling challenges, regulatory complexity, hardware decisions, fleet optimization, and new integration models, all while aiming for sustainable growth.
That’s exactly why ATOM Mobility is organizing ATOM Connect 2026.
Our previous edition of ATOM Connect brought together professionals from the car sharing and rental industry for focused, high-quality discussions and networking. This year, we are narrowing the focus and dedicating the entire event to one fast-moving segment of the industry: shared micromobility.
ATOM Connect 2026 is designed specifically for operators, partners, and decision-makers working in shared micromobility. It is not a broad mobility conference or a public exhibition. It is a curated space for industry professionals to exchange practical experience, insights, and lessons learned.
On May 14th, 2026 in Riga, we will once again bring the community together, this time with a clear focus on micromobility.
What to expect
This year’s agenda will address the real operational and strategic questions shaping shared micromobility today:
- Scaling fleets sustainably
- Multi-vehicle operations beyond scooters
- Regulatory cooperation and long-term city partnerships
- Data-driven fleet optimization
- MaaS integration and ecosystem collaboration
- Marketing and automation for growth
As usual, we aim to host both local and international operators from smaller, fast-growing fleets to established large-scale players alongside hardware providers and ecosystem partners.
On stage, you’ll hear from leading shared mobility companies - including Segway on hardware partnerships, Umob on MaaS integration, Anadue on data-driven fleet intelligence, Elerent on multi-vehicle operational realities and more insightful discussions.
The goal is simple: meaningful discussions with people who understand the operational realities of the industry.
A curated, industry-focused event
ATOM Connect is free to attend, but participation is industry-focused (each submission is manually reviewed and verified). We are intentionally keeping the audience relevant and aligned to ensure high-quality conversations and valuable networking.
If you work in shared micromobility and would like to join the event, you can find the full agenda and register here:
👉 https://www.atommobility.com/atom-connect-2026
In the coming weeks, we will be revealing more speakers and additional agenda updates. We look forward to bringing the industry together again.
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