Smart mobility and services
On the 22nd of January 2018, the European Commission published a study on smart mobility and services.
Decarbonising transport and mobility systems is a pressing challenge for global and European climate change mitigation. Understanding and differentiating the performance and potential of emerging new and innovative transport and mobility systems will be fundamental in implementing successful and sustainable transformation paths.
Digitisation is currently reshaping the sector. ICT-enabled web, mobile and big data applications are spawning new mobility and transport services and systems. Traditional automotive, public and private transport models are being challenged as new players are emerging with disruptive service offerings; many of the new models are blurring traditional demarcations between public transport and private mobility, including in the area of urban logistics. Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) will increasingly catalyse the public-private co-development and co-delivery of mobility and transport systems and services, as well as shared and open use of public space, data and infrastructure.
The principal prospects for decarbonisation are strong better utilisation of underused assets in transport fleets and infrastructures can accommodate increasing demand and reduce the share of unsustainable travel modes. Smart mobility systems and services have the promise to contribute to the needed decarbonisation of the transport sector and might also help address persistent problems of congestion and accessibility. However, new innovations in technologies and use need to optimise the whole transport system not road-based car travel only to make a long-term contribution to decarbonisation.
In spite of modest, evolutionary innovations, transport continues to represent over 20% of CO2 emissions and is projected to continue to rise significantly to 2050 even in benign scenarios. Most significantly, transport’s share of overall CO2 emissions continues to increase in current linear projections. Recent scenarios offer little confidence that the policy mix currently deployed towards mitigation will have sufficient decarbonisation impact. Projections toward 2050 appear to offer a stabilisation of current absolute CO2 emissions from global transport at best and a rather more probable increase of CO2 emissions, albeit with a reduced rate of increase.
Notably, these scenarios do not yet fully incorporate the innovation dynamics of recent years. A key requirement is for new mobility services to build on zero- and low-carbon technologies, and to contribute to modal shift, efficient demand management and sustainable land use.
Source: European Commission
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In: Connectivity & Automation, Growth & Competitiveness