BrazilAmsterdam, London and Helsinki are Europe's mobility champions
The capital cities of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland have been named the globe’s leaders in mobility and transport, according to a new report by Oliver Wyman and the University of California.
The way which people travel from A to B will change drastically in the coming years. With the help of innovative technologies, all kinds of new and hybrid forms of travel are emerging. One major trend is the shift from ownership – for example owning a car or bike – to transport sharing and ‘use as a service’ models. The rise of robot taxis and self-driving boats is another future scenario that is set to become mainstream.
Those relying on public transport will in the future be able to use a wider base of transport nodes – train, bus, bicycle, car-to-go and more – to bring them to their final destination in the fastest, cheapest and most sustainable manner. And while such transport choices would today require different ticketing and payment processes, the emergence of ‘mobility as a service’ will soon mean that steps (planning, booking and paying) for all means of transport can be carried out from a single interface.
In the Oliver Wyman and University of California study, the researchers looked at how ready global cities are for this mobility revolution. They scored cities on five factors – social impact, attractiveness of the market, green innovation, efficiency of the mobility system and quality of life – based on current status, as well as the future potential.
Singapore is according to the index the world’s top performer, thanks to its aggressive approach to integrating cutting-edge technology with progressive transportation policies and success in reducing traffic congestion through various initiatives. In addition, “Singapore is leading the way in the latest mobility tools, platforms and services, as well as autonomous driving and real-time, digitised traffic management,” said Guillaume Thibault, a partner at Oliver Wyman.
Amsterdam ranks second, thanks to its robust infrastructure and extensive public transportation system. The city is further renowned for its efforts to downplay the automobile as a transport mode, stimulating the uptake of electric vehicles, but mainly because it encourage bicycles as an alternate mode of transportation. Demonstrating the success of Amsterdam’s deep-rooted bicycle culture, the city currently has more bicycles (880,000) than inhabitants (800,000).
Rounding off the top five are London, Shanghai and New York. Five more European cities rank in the index’s top twenty: Helsinki, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris and Istanbul.
