Shared EV-mobility platform Yulu’s ride data can help authorities identify infrastructure flaws

Yulu, an electric Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform, can utilise its data collected during vehicle usage to help concerned government agencies identify faulty road infrastructure and assist them with urban development projects. 

The electric bike-sharing platform captures data as specific as congestion patterns on a given road and responsible factors like peak traffic timings, bad road conditions, weather conditions, and more. Yulu does this by leveraging data collected about the health of the elective vehicle (EV), the battery, and other hardware and software components. The Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) information can also help the platform identify bumps or potholes on the road. 

“Yulu and public transport authorities like metro, bus, or rail operators have a symbiotic relationship. We set up easily accessible Yulu Zones near their locations, thus plugging the last-mile gap for these services. As a company that operates a large fleet of smart vehicles in multiple cities, we are more than willing to be a partner in urban development projects and to use our technological and analytical prowess to improve commuter safety as and when the need arises,” Naveen Dachuri, Chief Technology Officer at Yulu told BusinessLine.  

Along with the data collected regarding the usage of assets (EVs), the company collects data from users to see locations where Yulu has generated demand, where users spend more time, the usual routes they use, places they visit for battery swaps, and other related data. This data will also be used to anticipate demand for new Yulu zones, or locations where Yulu bikes are typically placed for easy access.  

• Also read: Yulu raises $19.25 million led by existing investors Magna and Bajaj Auto

“We want to work with the different government agencies, especially in infrastructure development, because we get a lot of information about where our vehicle suddenly slows down or is stuck. We then analyse why our users encounter these problems at particular locations,” he added. 

Yulu deploys telemetry, or IoT units, into its smart vehicles that publish data into the company’s system whenever they encounter problems. “This data can be leveraged to run our business, to improve efficiencies, make our systems smart, and build solutions to make our whole proposition affordable,” said Dachuri.

Yulu also uses Machine Learning (ML) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) to see where vehicles should be deployed, whom to target so they can be utilized, and how to improve maintenance. Generative AI (GenAI) is used for customer support and in internal operations efficiency teams.