Interviews

June 9, 2022

Talking about mobility with Aléxandros Tziampazis

Business Developer & Mobility Consultant

Hi Aléxandros! We want everyone to know a bit about you, so... Let´s get started!

Aléxandros Tziampazis is a Greek mobility industry consultant specialized in topics of mobility, such as shared mobility, micro mobility and the automotive sector.

After finishing his master's degree at IE in Madrid, he joined Toyota in its European headquarters working initially at the corporate strategy department and then on operations.

Subsequently, and with the emergence in 2018 of numerous micro-mobility operators, he wanted to get into new mobility projects, which led him to joining HIVE in Barcelona. Since then, he has been working on different projects as a consultant and as a business developer.

Which project or initiative would you highlight in your professional career?

I have been working these last months on the launch of a mobility application astyMOVE, for the Greek island of Astypalea.

astyMOVE App

Through the collaboration of the Hellenic Republic and Volkswagen Group, a transport system has been created with the aim of replacing the island's current transport system by electric vehicles both for private and sharing usage. As such on-demand transport, car sharing, motos and bike sharing services are offered.

The idea of this project is that a large part of the island's electricity demand will be covered by renewable sources of electricity.

To this end, a "goTOzero" sustainability strategy has been developed with the aim of achieving one of the goals of the Paris Agreement: Climate neutrality by 2050.

Astypalea, Greece

Do you think that in the future it will be possible for many micro-mobility and shared mobility companies to coexist in the same city?

Obviously a consolidation was and still is expected (see Wind’s Ops/markets being acquired by several operators, nextbike and spin by Tier, circ by Bird, etc.).

However, and as an economist by education, I believe that for any service or product that exists out there, there should be more than a couple of companies in order for not  having a monopoly. Of course when the government participates, one service could exist.

That being said, for micro mobility, I believe that 2 or 3, depending of course on the city size and other related criteria, can be helpful for a healthy competition and an overall good service.

How do you see the future of autonomous vehicles?

Technology is the key here, especially artificial intelligence. For this to happen, both amendments in regulation and infrastructure are needed.

Pilots already exist throughout the world, with companies such as Cruise participating (without even a back-up driver) on public roads in the U.S.A.

Overall, I expect a couple of levels or milestones:

  • Private ground pilot ✔
  • Small scale pilot in controlled environment ✔
  • Pilot in public environment  ?

We are not near level five yet, but rather on level three. We still have lots of time reaching that level.

If you had to describe the mobility of the future in three words, what would they be?

Micromobility, (city) MaaS, and autonomous driving will be, in my opinion, three of the main trends and things to look at, at short, medium and longer terms.