CROWD4ROADS · Project

Smartphone-Based Road Quality Monitoring Combined with Ride Sharing for Cheaper Maintenance

transportPilotedTRL 7

Imagine every car on the road acting as a pothole detector — just by using the phone already mounted on the dashboard. This project connected BlaBlaCar's massive ride-sharing network with an app called SmartRoadSense that reads bumps and roughness through the phone's motion sensors. The result is a live map of road conditions built automatically by everyday drivers, so road authorities know exactly where to fix things before small cracks become expensive problems. They tested it with over a million people across more than a million kilometers of roads.

By the numbers

10,000,000+

BlaBlaCar members across the ride-sharing network

Countries where BlaBlaCar operates

73.7%

Share of intra-EU passenger transport from passenger cars

~12%

CO2 emissions from car passenger traffic

1,000,000+

People involved in validation pilots

1,000,000+

Kilometers of roads covered in pilots

< 2

Average car occupancy rate (passengers per car)

Consortium partners

Countries in the consortium (FR, IT, RO, UK)

The business problem

What needed solving

Road networks are the most expensive public assets to maintain, yet authorities often don't know where problems are until damage is severe and costly. Manual road inspections are slow, expensive, and can only cover a fraction of the network at any given time. Meanwhile, millions of cars drive these roads daily with powerful sensors in drivers' pockets, generating data that goes completely unused.

The solution

What was built

A platform combining BlaBlaCar ride sharing with SmartRoadSense crowd-sourced road monitoring, using smartphone accelerometers to map road surface roughness. The system was validated through three rounds of pilots at local, regional, and national scales, producing 19 deliverables including demonstration reports at each scale.

Audience

Who needs this

National and regional road authorities responsible for maintenance budgetsFleet management companies needing road quality data for route optimizationRide-sharing and mobility-as-a-service platforms looking to add valueSmart city solution providers integrating urban sensor dataInsurance companies interested in road condition risk assessment

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Road Infrastructure Management

enterprise

Target: Road maintenance agencies and public works departments

If you are a road authority or maintenance contractor dealing with the impossible task of inspecting thousands of kilometers of roads manually — this project developed a smartphone-based crowd sensing system that estimates road surface roughness from car-mounted phones. It was validated in pilots covering more than 1 million km of roads and involving more than 1 million people, giving you continuous road condition data without expensive survey vehicles.

Mobility & Transport Services

any

Target: Ride-sharing and fleet management platforms

If you are a mobility platform struggling to increase car occupancy rates — this project built a system linking ride sharing with road monitoring incentives. With average car occupancy below 2 passengers per car and passenger cars accounting for 73.7% of intra-EU transport, the platform rewards shared rides with road quality data contributions, creating a virtuous cycle that benefits both drivers and infrastructure.

Smart City Technology

mid-size

Target: Municipal technology vendors and urban planning consultancies

If you are a smart city solutions provider looking for low-cost urban sensing capabilities — this project demonstrated that crowd-sourced accelerometer data from ordinary smartphones can replace or supplement dedicated road survey equipment. The system was piloted at local, regional, and national scales across 4 countries, proving it works at the scale cities actually need.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy this road monitoring system?

The core technology relies on smartphones drivers already own, which eliminates the need for dedicated sensor hardware. The main costs would be platform integration, data processing infrastructure, and user engagement campaigns. Based on available project data, no specific per-unit pricing is published.

Can this scale beyond the pilot regions?

The project was specifically designed for scalability, running pilots at local, regional, and national scales. The final pilot involved more than 1 million people and covered more than 1 million km of roads. The partnership with BlaBlaCar, which has over 10 million members in 14 countries, demonstrates the network is already in place for European-wide deployment.

What is the IP situation and how can we license this?

The SmartRoadSense technology was developed by the University of Urbino. BlaBlaCar contributed its existing commercial platform. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the consortium. Based on available project data, specific IP or patent filings are not detailed in the public record.

How does road condition data actually get collected?

SmartRoadSense uses the accelerometers built into car-mounted smartphones to estimate road surface roughness while people drive normally. No special equipment is needed — just the phone and the app. Data is aggregated and processed to create road condition maps.

What measurable impact does this have on emissions?

Passenger cars account for 73.7% of total intra-EU passenger transport, and the resulting traffic produces about 12% of CO2 emissions. By increasing car occupancy rates above the current average of below 2 passengers per car, the system directly reduces per-passenger emissions. Exact reduction figures depend on adoption scale.

Is this technology still actively maintained?

The project ended in March 2019. SmartRoadSense continues as an independent platform. BlaBlaCar remains a major commercial ride-sharing service. For current status of the integrated platform, contact the coordinator at the University of Urbino.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium of 10 partners across 4 countries (France, Italy, Romania, UK) brings a practical mix with 3 industry partners and 2 SMEs making up a 30% industry ratio. The presence of BlaBlaCar — a commercially proven ride-sharing platform with over 10 million users — is a major asset, providing immediate access to a massive user base rather than starting from scratch. The University of Urbino leads coordination and developed the SmartRoadSense technology. The 5 'other' category partners likely include public authorities and transport agencies needed for pilot access and real-world validation. This is not a pure research consortium — it has genuine commercial reach built in.

Universita' degli Studi di Urbino Carlo BoCoordinator · IT
FUNDATIA SATEANparticipant · RO
COVENTRY UNIVERSITYparticipant · UK
REGIONE ABRUZZOparticipant · IT
INTERDIGITAL EUROPE LTDthirdparty · UK
REGIONE MARCHEparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

The coordinator is University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy). SciTransfer can help arrange introductions to the research team.

Order a report on this consortium See Universita' degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to integrate crowd-sourced road monitoring into your infrastructure or fleet management? SciTransfer can connect you with the CROWD4ROADS team and help you evaluate fit for your use case.

Order a report on this topic More in Transport & Mobility