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Mobility of the future
Strategies for a climate-friendly city
Climate-friendly mobility concepts are vital to the sustainable future of large cities. KfW keeps a close eye on developments, looks at possible solutions and supports innovative ideas, projects and start‑ups.
The growing rate of urbanisation presents cities with a multitude of challenges – also when it comes to mobility. As the population grows, so do the traffic problems within densely populated urban areas. The transport sector accounts for over a quarter of global emissions harmful to the climate and adversely affects the environment and human health. At the same time, mobility is a basic need of people who live in cities and is therefore an important prerequisite for economic growth, personal well-being, creativity and social integration. Smart solutions are needed to make cities liveable, clean and healthy places again.
For a sustainable future
Innovative, effective and sustainable mobility concepts are urgently needed to ensure cities’ future viability. Mobility creates opportunities and fosters social cohesion but must be environmentally and climate-friendly and at the same time take into account the growing needs of the urban population. What could an effective and feasible solution look like?
Mobility as an integrated concept
Integration and interconnectivity are core building blocks for meeting the mobility challenges of growing cities: all individual solutions and means of transport must be considered in their entirety and integrated to achieve an efficient outcome. The resulting integrated transport systems will depend in particular on technological advancements in digitisation.
Individual means of transport are therefore no longer treated as separate from one another but are interlinked and used in line with needs: bicycle, train, car or bus – in the future it will no longer be a question of which means of transport to use, but how to reach your destination most quickly and efficiently. To this end, the means of transport are digitally linked to one another and to the infrastructure. An integrated system emerges out of the individual elements. The networked urban mobility of the future is composed of individual transport elements.
Cycling
Cycling is an independent, cost-effective means of transport that also protects the environment. Bicycles can even be used to transport cargo – with an electric drive for longer distances. However, bicycles cannot fully replace other means of transport, especially for longer distances and due to weather conditions. They need to be combined with complementary mobility schemes. The main challenge in encouraging cycling is creating and expanding infrastructure: fast cycle paths, efficient charging stations and adequate parking are needed. Bicycles also have to be available everywhere and at all times in the city using sharing systems. It is also necessary to establish a cycling culture, which does not exist in many parts of the world. Bicycles must be seen and accepted as an everyday means of transport.
In Copenhagen, the aim is for bicycles to make up 50% of all transport by 2025.
In Germany, 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved every year if 30% of car trips under six kilometres in cities were shifted to bicycles.
Travelling to work by public transport instead of car for one year saves around 320 kilograms of CO2 over a distance of 25 kilometres.
In Germany, public transport replaces around 20 million car trips every day.
Local public transport
From buses, underground lines and trams to futuristic cable cars – urban mobility has the potential to make urban development more sustainable. Growing cities are more dependent than ever on mass modes of transport with efficient space utilisation. Frequent service, good passenger information, ease of use, uncomplicated and affordable fares or even free services are the key to a successful public transport system. Public transport can help eliminate the daily traffic congestion during rush hour and contribute to a better quality of life in the city. The high investment costs represent obstacles to expanding local public transport, especially in developing countries and emerging economies – particularly because expansion has long been neglected in many cities. In addition, new routes must be constructed to suit the unique characteristics of each city: there are clear limits to urban development in terms of the space available or the possibility of building underground tunnel systems. New systems such as cable cars boast clear advantages.
E-mobility
Electric vehicles are currently the key strategy in efforts to achieve climate-neutral mobility. The shift from internal combustion engines to electric drives helps to reduce CO2 emissions. At the same time, less traffic noise and cleaner air improve the quality of life in cities. When it comes to expanding e-mobility, the main challenge lies in providing the necessary infrastructure at charging stations. Other considerations include battery recycling and increasing vehicle ranges. One significant obstacle is the demand for electricity, which is increasing and difficult to predict: existing infrastructure and power grids must be further developed in order to adapt to the new requirements. Hybrid vehicles can act as a bridge combining both technologies. If the percentage of renewable energy continues to rise in the future, e-mobility can make an enormous contribution to environmental protection.
Around 3.2 million electric cars were registered worldwide in 2017.
New registrations of electric cars in Norway in 2018 accounted for 31.2% of the total.
50% of car owners in industrialised countries are generally willing to share their vehicle with others.
Each car on the road in Germany transports an average of 1.4 people.
Sharing instead of owning
One complementary way to remedy the prevailing traffic chaos in cities is to move away from individual transport. The concept of shared mobility is based on the idea that objects are no longer privately owned, but shared. Sharing cars, bicycles or scooters offers more flexibility and lower costs for everyone. At the same time, this system also ensures that fewer vehicles are on the roads – the city becomes quieter and offers more room for pedestrians, cyclists and social life. And the environment also benefits from shared mobility in the form of lower exhaust emissions.
Future Perspectives
Current developments highlight the prevailing dynamics in urban mobility: new mobility strategies and solutions are being developed, tested and discussed worldwide on the basis of technological innovations. Work is already underway on futuristic means of transport that can be deployed in cities in the future. These include air taxis, hyperloops and a completely autonomous traffic system. One thing is certain: the transport sector will undergo a major transformation in the coming years. KfW will continue to monitor developments and participate in social and political discussions in order to identify potential and support promising projects – for climate-friendly urban mobility.
