2023: The Year of Sustainable Transportation?

What progress can we expect in 2023, asks Audrey Denis, Senior Manager, Strategy & Strategic Partnerships,

There can be no doubt, as climate records continue to tumble and extreme weather events cause ever-increasing damage, that sustainability has a key role to play in humanity’s future. However, making a sustainable vision a reality is easier said than done, especially when it comes to transportation.

New research from Free Now reveals over half of the UK public plan to increase their use of sustainable transport choices in 2023 – as a way of reducing spending and looking after the planet. Almost a third say that sustainable transport – including shared mobility (micromobility, taxis and private hire vehicles) and public transport –is increasingly important in the wake of the current cost-of-living crisis.

The findings also show a marked shift in travel priorities across the UK. The UK’s top New Year transport resolutions include using more shared mobility, with 14 per cent of people pledging to use this form of transportation further. People are also increasingly likely to live without a car by using taxis, private hire vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes. At the same time, 37 per cent of respondents said they will rely more on public transport this year.

The rise of sustainable transit

Does this really mark a sea change in how the public views sustainable transport and why is it important? It isn’t surprising that people want environmentally friendly, locally available, efficient and affordable mobility options. However, there are numerous factors to bear in mind, including fluctuating demand, cost, maintenance and fuel prices. That means we must plan carefully to ensure public transport networks work effectively.

Whether you are going to a hospital appointment, doing the school run or commuting to work, ideally there should be a wide range of public transport options available, as well as the use of bicycles or private vehicles. The sad reality, however, is that outside of major urban areas, public transport in the UK is woefully limited. This is where perhaps private mobility service providers (MSPs), such as ride-sharing or electric scooters, can play a role in helping rural and urban communities expand their mobility options.

Behavioural impact

Because of these variables, local government and transport officials tend to focus on objectives that will enable regular, low-stress public transport while reducing congestion and emissions. A noble goal, but not an easy one because modern transit systems are largely fragmented, which makes it difficult for transport officials to coordinate a holistic strategy.

Instead, passenger behaviour can be changed – or ‘nudged’ – to make an impact on traffic and pollution. This approach requires the right tools to guide passengers to make more sustainable choices. That’s where digital mobility comes into play: solutions that can synchronise siloed transport systems across the mobility network, enabling regional, national and international stakeholders to collaborate effectively and make well-informed decisions.

Digital mobility has the potential to integrate each mode of transport into a unified operating network across the whole transportation ecosystem. Therefore, we can connect everything, from local buses to ridesharing to traffic management, to provide one efficient, coordinated journey. As an example of how this might encourage proactive tactics, we might use dynamic congestion pricing to reduce traffic on days with poor air quality.

Technological advances

Across this integrated ecosystem, we can deploy digital tools, including integrated ticketing, real-time network data and dynamic pricing, to make sustainability a reality. Harvesting data from multiple sources, such as ticketing systems on public transport, digital toll booths, and traffic light cameras, enables total visibility in realtime of network demand and bottlenecks. That means transit managers can plan more efficiently and introduce flexible, adaptive and responsive incentives to optimise traffic and encourage passengers to choose the most sustainable option.

Technically speaking, digital mobility is available today: all the requisite tools to enable real-time, coordinated, and integrated mobility across multiple transport modes can be deployed through infrastructure upgrades and cloud-based SaaS solutions. Putting in place the foundational elements, like a unified account-based ticketing and payment platform which is interoperable between all transit options, is no longer a pipe dream or prohibitively expensive.

Despite chronic underfunding in the public sector, the increasingly impactful threat of climate change is driving adoption. Improving public transportation equity, access and usage is an honourable aim and the technology that connects passengers, services, vehicles and agencies exist to make it a sustainable reality.

We face an ever-more complex challenge to provide our citizens and neighbours with reliable, low-carbon, efficient and safe transport options, wherever we find ourselves in the world. Digital mobility, micromobility and MSPs, offer a clearly defined path to consistent availability and dependability. Now is the time to fund and promote them as a faster and more affordable alternative to private vehicles.