MixMyRide is a research project developed by SUPSI, IDSIA USI-SUPSI, ZHAW, BePooler, and Citec. The project is funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and has the support of the City of Lugano, through its Lugano Living Lab, and of the City of Winterthur, through its WinLab. It develops and field tests the MixMyRide app, which identifies new multi-modal mobility opportunities by integrating public transport, car-pooling and active mobility (walking and cycling) transport modes. Use of the MixMyRide app can therefore contribute to the reduction of car-based traffic congestion and the related environmental and climate impacts, while at the same time enjoying new socialisation and active mobility opportunities.
Goals
Based on three trials run in 2023-2024 in the regions of Lugano, Winterthur-Zurich and Geneva, MixMyRide aims at estimating the effects of use of the MixMyRide app on urban mobility and on the related greenhouse gases emissions.
Timetable
Use of the MixMyRide app is made available from March 2023 to April 2024 to any interested persons living, studying or working in the three above regions. In the following months the collected data will be analysed and results will be presented to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy in Autumn 2024.
Participation
If you live, study or work in one of the above three regions (Lugano, Winterthur-Zurich, Geneva), you are welcome to take part in the field trials performed during the period March 2023 – April 2024, provided that you meet the following requirements.
Requirements
- Minimum age: 16 years old;
- Place of living, working or studying: regions of Lugano, Winterthur-Zurich or Geneva;
- Willingness to:
- download, install, register an account on the MixMyRide app and interact with its features aimed at supporting multi-modal mobility in those regions;
- answer three online surveys (about 15 minutes each), respectively when starting app use, halfway, and in February 2024;
- be contacted to possibly join a two-hour group interview with other MixMyRide app users.
-
By registering an account on the MiyMyRide app and expressing your consent to use it, you also express your consent to join the MixMyRide trial, receive email invitations to answer the three online surveys and be possibly contacted for a group interview.
Benefits
You will contribute to the progress of scientific research and help produce tangible impacts in the transition to a more sustainable society. You might discover new possibilities for your everyday mobility needs, including leisure ones, while getting novel opportunities for socialisation via car-pooling and for keeping yourself fit via active mobility. If you will offer car-pooling rides, you might also earn some money. By interacting with the app and regularly answering the surveys you will be offered, you will enter bi-monthly random draws. Overall, throughout the whole one-year trial, prizes of the maximum value of 4’000 CHF will be available in each region.
Incentives for carpooling rides in the MixMyRide Ticino, Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich area
Monetary incentives are available in the Ticino, Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich areas, to support the offer of carpooling rides. The detailed incentive conditions are as follows:
-
the incentives are active from 7 November 2023 until the end of the MixMyRide field test, scheduled for 30 April 2024;
-
the incentives are only available to MixMyRide users that offer carpooling trips within the “Ticino”, “Geneva” and “Winterthur-Zurich” MixMyRide areas reported in the Profile section in the MixMyRide app;
-
a maximum of 15’000 LVGA (150 CHF) incentive can be attributed to each single MixMyRide user over the whole MixMyRide field test period;
-
overall, 500’000 LVGA (5’000 CHF) are available for the MixMyRide incentives during the whole MixMyRide field test period in Ticino and 2’500 CHF in the agglomerations of Winterthur-Zurich and Geneva;
-
the conditions for incentive attribution are slightly different among the regions, as follows.
MixMyRide carpooling rides in Ticino:
- Every month, a maximum of 125’000 LVGA incentives (1’250 CHF) can be attributed. Incentives are attributed in chronological order, by considering the date and time of the carpooling trip. When the amount of 125’000 LVGA is reached, no more incentives are attributed for that month. Attribution of the incentives restarts from scratch in the next month, provided it is included in the MixMyRide field test period.
- the conditions for getting the incentives are verified once a month: at the start of the month, all MixMyRide carpooling trips performed in the previous month are verified. MixMyRide users entitled to receive the incentive are contacted via email, to the email address they used to register on MixMyRide. To receive the incentive, MixMyRide users in Ticino will be asked to provide details of the MyLugano wallet that is associated with their account on the MyLugano app.
- no incentive is offered in currencies other than LVGA.
MixMyRide carpooling rides in Winterthur-Zurich and Geneva:
- In the agglomerations of Winterthur-Zurich of Geneva, the total amount of incentives collected from the date of their launch (6th November 2023) to the end of the project (30 April 2024) is transferred to the users in the week following the end of the project (the first week of May 2024);
- the conditions for getting the incentives are verified at the end of the project (30 April 2024) and the amounts of incentives are calculated. The MixMyRide users who are eligible for incentives are going to be asked whether they want to receive a Migros or a Coop voucher and then the vouchers will be sent to them;
- The minimum amount of cumulative incentives a user has to collect for the whole duration of the project is 10 CHF. If this amount of incentives is not reached, the user will receive no Migros or Coop voucher;
- No incentive is offered in currencies or formats other than Migros and Coop vouchers.
Prizes
In exchange for the commitment to use the MixMyRide platform, the MixMyRide project rewards its “active users” with the following set of prizes:
-
the first 50 persons that, in each region (Lugano, Geneva, Winterthur-Zurich), will have registered on the MixMyRide app, will have answer the first MixMyRide survey, and will have offered 3 carpooling rides, will receive a 20 CHF voucher;
-
every two months, in each region random draws are organized. Each random draw offers a maximum of 10 prizes (vouchers) of the value of 50 CHF each. The number of prizes depends on the number of “active MixMyRide users” that are found in each region on the day set for the random draw. These draws are performed on May, 2 2023; June, 30, 2023; August, 31 2023; October, 31 2023; December, 31 2023; 29 February 2024, 30 April 2024.
Overall, in each region a maximum of 4’000 CHF is available for prizes. In all cases, prizes are vouchers. For registered MixMyRide users in the region of Lugano, only redeeming vouchers for LVGA, the Lugano City Payment Token, will be possible. For registered MixMyRide users in the regions of Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich, choice from a selection of bodies where to redeem prizes will be possible, such as SBB, Veloplus, Coop, Migros, or Manor. The detailed list of bodies between which prize vouchers can be redeemed will be communicated via e-mail to the winners, together with the communication they won the prize.
The MixMyRide project consortium reserves the right to modify the requirements for “active MixMyRide users” and the number of prizes offered on varying the number of “active MixMyRide users”, at any time, based on the evolution of the MixMyRide trials in Lugano, Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich. The MixMyRide project consortium also has the right to terminate or interrupt the random draws at any time. This applies in particular in the event of reasons that may prejudice or impede the smooth running of the random draws. Therefore, please, always check the updated version of this document that is available online on the MixMyRide website.
N.B.: the prizes are in addition to the incentives
Requirements for classification as an “active MixMyRide user”
Only app users that, on the day before the one scheduled for the random draw, meet the conditions for being an “active MixMyRide” user can enter the random draws. An “active MixMyRide user” is defined as follows:
- (s)he has registered a personal account on the MixMyRide app;
- (s)he has answered all the survey(s) for which an email invitation has been sent to the email address (s)he indicated at registration on the MixMyRide app;
- (s)he has offered at least 1 carpooling trip per week in the last two months or has searched for at least 4 trips per week in the last two months, by using the MixMyRide app.
If, on the day when requirements for being an “active MixMyRide user” are verified, you have been registered on the MixMyRide app for less than two months, the above requirements on the number of offered carpooling rides and searched for trips are proportionally scaled to the number of weeks since you have been registered on MixMyRide.
Number of prizes offered at each random draw
In each region, the number of prizes offered for each bi-monthly random draw depends on the number of “active MixMyRide users” that is reached in that region. The check on the number of “active MixMyRide users” is performed, for each region separately, on the day before the one scheduled for the random draw. The number of available prizes for each random draw and region is set according to the following rules:
- Less that 50 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 1 voucher of the value of 50 CHF is randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 75 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 2 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 100 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 3 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 125 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 4 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 150 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 5 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 175 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 6 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 200 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 7 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 225 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 8 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- Less than 250 “active MixMyRide” users in that region: 9 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region;
- 250 “active MixMyRide” users in that region or more: 10 vouchers of the value of 50 CHF each are randomly drawn in that region.
To ensure a large number of prizes is offered at each random draw in each region, regularly interact with the MixMyRide app, by offering carpooling rides and searching for trips to support your daily mobility needs, remember to answer the short online surveys when you will receive the invitations and… bring some friends and help us grow the MixMyRide community!
Conditions to redeem prize vouchers
The prizes will be passed on exclusively to the winners, that will be personally informed by email soon after the draw. Prizes and incentives will be paid exclusively as material prizes (LVGA or vouchers) and cannot be exchanged or converted into cash money.
Winners in the region of Lugano will be invited to redeem their LVGA prize/incetives vouchers within one month from the email communication about the win. In order to redeem the prize/incentive, winners will need to have an active profile and wallet in the MyLugano App. The app can be downloaded for free in the Apple and Android stores. The City of Lugano will credit the prize/incentive in LVGA to all active users of the MyLugano App. In order to do so, the City will ask the MyLugano wallet or email to all the winners. Users that do not have an active MyLugano wallet at the time of the draw, will have up to one month to activate it and communicate it to the city in order to receive the prize/incentive.
Winners in the regions of Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich will be asked to choose the prize voucher they prefer to receive from the list they will be sent via e-mail. For this purpose, they will be invited to send a communication to the MixMyRide team within one month from the email communication about the win.
If within one month from the email communication, the winners will not have either redeemed their prize/incentive in LVGA (for winners in the region of Lugano) or will not have contacted the MixMyRide team indicating the chosen prize voucher (for winners in the regions of Geneva and Winterthur-Zurich), the prizes will decay.
Risks
By installing, registering and using the MixMyRide app you will not incur in any specific risk. Car-pooling rides that you might either offer (as a “driver”) or benefit from (as a “rider”) through MixMyRide will however be performed under your own responsibility. You are therefore responsible for any damages you might create and for any injuries you might suffer. You will therefore respond personally and are invited to be covered by civil responsibility, car and life insurances. The project partners SUPSI, IDSIA USI-SUPSI, ZHAW, BePooler, CITEC, and Città di Lugano have no responsibility on any activities stemming from illicit carpooling rides or app use. They are not responsible either for possible travel delays due to the use of mobility solutions suggested by MixMyRide.
Data protection
For users of the MixMyRide app, the following data manually inputted by the user is collected:
- name, surname, email address, phone number;
- car producer, model and car-plate (if app users want to offer car-pooling rides);
- date, time, starting and arrival place for offered carpooling rides;
- date, time, starting and arrival place for requested mobility rides;
- evaluations made to other app users.
The MixMyRide app also collects and stores evaluations each app user receives by other app users. The MixMyRide app also automatically detects the users’ position, if users ask for their position to be geo-localised when they either ask or offer a trip.
For each app user, the MixMyRide project also collects answers to three online surveys. For a selection of MixMyRide app users that are invited to join a group interview, MixMyRide also collects transcripts of discussion performed during such group interviews.
The collected data is saved on protected servers hosted in Europe by Microsoft Azure under management by the BePooler project partner. The pseudonymisation table linking name and surname to the email address of the app users will only be accessed by the BePooler project partner. The email addresses of the MixMyRide app users will be only communicated to specific persons authorized by each project partner, and only for the purpose of the research needs by the MixMyRide project. Specifically, the email addresses will only be used to send invitations to answer the surveys, invite to join group interviews or provide communications on the evolution of project activities.
Data collected through the surveys and the group interviews will only be released into aggregated forms forms, with no possibility to identify any single individual person.
Data collected throughout the project might be made available in public open data repository, to be only used for research purposes. Any data made available in such open data repositories will be thoroughly pseudonymized, in order to remove any possibilities that individual persons are identifiable.
For additional information, you can check MixMyRide’s Privacy policy.
Right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from the MixMyRide project at any time, without providing any justifications for your decisions. If you want to be removed from the list of MixMyRide app users and you want that the previously collected data associated with your person are deleted, you can simply send an email to mixmyride@supsi.ch.
As the reasons for withdrawing from a research project are interesting for the purpose of the research itself, we will delete your data and will also invite you to fill in a short form stating your reasons. We will be happy if you will decide to answer it, though this will not be compulsory at all.
Contact
For general questions regarding the MixMyRide project and app, please contact the SUPSI researcher responsible for the whole MiyMyRide project: Francesca Cellina, via F. Ruchat-Roncati 15, 6850 Mendrisio (tel. +41(0)58 666 62 61, francesca.cellina@supsi.ch or mixmyride@supsi.ch).
- For questions regarding the trial in the region of Geneva, please contact: Camille Vedel – CITEC, +41(0)22 809 60 00;
- For questions regarding the trial in the region of Winterthur-Zurich, please contact: Uroš Tomic – ZHAW, +41 (0)58 934 78 58;
- For questions regarding the trial in the region of Lugano, please contact: Francesca Cellina – SUPSI, tel. +41(0)58 666 62 61.