On occasion of the 45 International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development-XIX International Social Congress, Moscow, 17-18 October 2019., researcher Michal Kuzia, from de Gdynia Maritime University, Poland, published an article regarding the urban mobility model. The article provides an up to date review on this issue. Here there are some of the key issues.
The sharing economy gives the opportunity to use the available resources more effectively. It is possible by connecting people using online platforms that enable the provision of services and the cooperative use of assets. The paper discusses the changes taking place in shaping urban mobility model and compare them to global trends.
2. GLOBAL TRENDS IN URBAN TRANSPORT
Transport has begun to be perceived as a service that can be ordered and paid for through an application. The most important trends in urban transport can include:
• Shared mobility
• Smart mobility
• Mobility as a Service
• Transport on-demand
• Sustainable mobility
• Electromobility, electric vehicles, charging stations
• Alternative fuel vehicles
• Autonomous vehicles
A few of the selected issues are described in the following subsections.
2.1. Shared mobility
Shared mobility refers to the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other means of transportation. Shared mobility schemes require the use of at least one intelligent element: the intermediate platform. Examples of shared mobility are:
• Car-sharing
• Scooter-sharing
• Bike-sharing
• Ridesharing
• Carpooling, vanpooling
2.2. Smart mobility
The basic activities implemented in the framework of smart mobility include:
• Developing public transport (electric, hybrid, solar powered, etc.)
• Promoting bicycle as a means of urban transport
• Demand management for parking
• Giving priority to public and bicycle transport (bus lanes, dedicated lanes and bays for bicycles, etc.)
• Developing sharing economy, creating car-sharing and carpooling systems, separating high- occupancy vehicles (HOV) lanes
• ITS and transport on-demand.
2.3. Mobility as a Service
MaaS is short for Mobility as a Service, and it’s bringing all means of travel to one easy place – a mobile application. “MaaS systems offer customers personalized access to multiple transport modes and services, owned and operated by different mobility service providers, through an integrated digital platform for planning, booking and payment.”
As an example, the author mention a MaaS app from Helsinki. Since 2016, the city residents have been able to use an app called Whim to plan and pay for all modes of public and private transportation within the city: by train, taxi, bus, car-share, or bike-share. Anyone with the app can enter a destination, select his or her preferred mode of getting there-or, in cases where no single mode covers the door-to-door journey, a combination thereof-and go. The goal is to make it so convenient for users to get around that they opt to give up their personal vehicles for city commuting.
3. CHANGES IN URBAN MOBILITY MODEL
The number of people living in cities has been gradually increasing as a result of urbanization processes. In fact, agglomerations are growing, but often in an uncontrolled manner. A possible solution to this problem might be to provide access to sharing systems through the use of mobile applications.
The future of the urban mobility model will be characterized by the even greater use of new technologies, ecology and sharing economy.
4. CONCLUSION
The article concludes that In Mobility, the question is how to empower an increasingly urbanized global population with door-to-door, multi-modal transport solutions that will be affordable for all citizens. Based on current changes and emerging trends, the researcher estimate that the future urban mobility model will further integrate shared mobility.
The author also understands that the urban mobility model will also be revolutionized by implementing autonomous vehicles. Technological development would allow the introduction of such vehicles soon, however, legal and social barriers still remain.
The paper also highlights the fact that the urban mobility model has been constantly transformed. This is due to changing trends, often unpredictably and suddenly. An example would be the appearance of scooter-sharing or Uber. Thus, the author stresses that the characteristics of the urban mobility model, presented in this article, require constant monitoring and further research in this area.