Abstract
We are going through major transformations through new mobility technologies in our cities. Mobility systems are evolving rapidly all around the world with largely unknown planning implications. Cities should be preparing for massive mobility-related transformations pertaining to social-equity, energy, population dislocations, population growth, and climate change. Use of new technologies; sustainability of our travel patterns; changes in access, equity, and mobility have become the focus of numerous scholarly papers and reports, journal special issues, books, book chapters, as well as academic and nonacademic discussions. This Special Issue compiles the existing literature on these topics through peer-reviewed studies as well as the gray literature with a focus on new mobility technologies, and their planning implications.
This Special Issue includes three review articles. The articles touch upon mobility-related sustainability concern;, competing perspectives on mobility solutions and implications; changing lifestyles and travel patterns with technology; new data collection technologies and their mobility and planning implications; and the links between access, equity, and new mobility technologies.
The adverse effects of auto-dependency have been well acknowledged in the literature. These include a series of social and environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas emissions, poor urban air quality, nonrenewable energy consumption, traffic congestion, road trauma, social inequality, and lifestyle diseases due to physical inactivity. Recent literature view micromobility modes as an opportunity to move away from auto-dependency, while presenting mixed findings on the use, access, and equity impacts of such modes. For instance, while micromobility modes replace some of the auto trips, they also replace a notable amount of transit, walking, and bicycling trips. From the user perspective, several disparities exist in terms of costs and physical access. The article by McQueen and colleagues “Transportation Transformation: Is Mobility Making a Macro Impact on Sustainability” examines the role of micromobility in moving away from auto-dependency and cultivating a sustainable transportation system. The study focuses on emerging micromobility modes, namely, e-scooters, bike share, e-bike share, and privately owned e-bikes and argues these on-demand mobility options have the potential to move our cities toward more sustainable transportation futures. The authors develop a three-goal sustainability framework for these micromobility modes: (i) reducing auto dependence and GHG emissions; (ii) operating equitably through sustainable business practices while addressing socioeconomic disparities by providing transportation options; and (iii) enhancing human experience by improving safety and removing transportation barriers. The article states there is a gap between the current practices and their potential sustainability impacts and develops planning and policy recommendations in order to close this gap.
The article by Dill and McNeil “Are Shared Vehicles Shared by All? Review of Equity and Vehicle Sharing” reviews the existing research on vehicle sharing with a focus on equity, using a framework based on access and transport justice. The authors include three types of vehicle share in their review: cars, bikes, and e-scooters. Their work identifies the differences in the demographics of vehicle-share users in order to provide direction for cities and organizations aiming to increase the share of these modes. Dill and McNeil state there is evidence of disparities in the use of all three shared modes (cars, bikes, and e-scooters) with varying degrees. They report the existing literature reveals people-of-color, lower-income individuals, women, and older adults are less likely to use bikeshare. When it comes to carshare, the authors report while similar disparities exists, the extent is not as high. The inequities in e-scooter share seem to resemble bikeshare—but the authors state the literature is scarce on this mode and its user demographics. In fact, the authors find there is more research on equity considerations and bikeshare as compared to the other shared modes, which identifies an important research gap. Dill and McNeil also dive into the underlying reasons for these disparities and find evidence pointing to barriers such as access to credit cards, smartphones, and reliable internet. The authors note that there is limited information on these underlying reasons and call for research to explain the different usage levels across various socioeconomic and demographic groups, particularly when physical access (proximity) is not an issue. The authors also discuss some gaps regarding the methods used in most studies. They find most studies use vehicle location data together with minimal sociodemographic information. While these studies benefit from large sample sizes, they provide less in-depth information when it comes to the underlying reasons that motivate usage. The authors call for more in-depth studies using surveys as well as qualitative methods that focus on vehicle sharing and equity.
The existing research on new mobility technologies and equity point to their potential in improving equity while critiquing the current practice on existing disparities. The article by Palm et al. “Equity Analysis and New Mobility Technologies: Toward Meaningful Interventions” review the existing literature on the social equity impacts of new mobility technologies and transit integration, with a focus on ride-hailing, on-demand transit, micro-transit, and micro-mobility. The authors begin their review with an in-depth analysis of the recent transport equity debates on the consequences of transport inequity, indicators of transport system benefits and their distributions, and methods and data needs to improve the state of transport equity planning in practice. Then, they present cases on new mobility technology applications and their integration into public transit services focusing on their equity implications. The authors state social equity is rarely considered in pilots and trials when it comes to new mobility technologies. This creates a gap between academic discussions on the possibilities these new modes may offer in terms of addressing equity concerns and the detailed assessment of their actual impacts. The authors make recommendations on outcome metrics, as well as methods, data, and tools agencies may adopt in order to measure how pilots affect equity outcomes in their communities.
The emergence of new mobility technologies are shaping the future landscape of urban mobility. The three articles presented in this Special Issue compile relevant literature, share knowledge, and shed light on planning policy and implications of changing mobility technologies with a focus on their impacts on sustainable mobility and equity. They are not only relevant for researchers in the city and regional planning field but also those who are in practice seeking information that may be applicable for pilot projects and programs.