A new study calls on policymakers in cities to invest in ‘people-centric mobility’, focusing on the end user experience of urban transport options.
The ‘Future Mobility is People-Centric’ report, produced by global design and engineering consultancy firm Arcadis, analysed the potential benefits of people-centric mobility policy across three sectors: connectivity, promoting road safety and reducing congestion by connecting vehicles on the road to real time data; sustainability, the ongoing transition towards renewable fuel sources and environmentally sound forms of transport, particularly new and emerging forms of mobility such as motorised bicycles and electric vehicles; and optimisation, whereby technology and data gathering are deployed across existing infrastructure ecosystems to streamline user journeys.
The report indicates that investment in ‘core mobility’, primarily rail infrastructure, in combination with the integration of new and disruptive technologies supporting data analysis capability and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), could equip cities with a competitive market advantage over cities which do not focus investment or development on people-centric mobility. By optimising connectivity, data sharing and route planning technology, cities will be able to improve users’ experience of public transport while utilising the data gathered from connected mobility endeavours to augment their own decision making processes. Transport infrastructure users, meanwhile, will benefit from apps or platforms designed to optimise journeys by combining public transport types and routes.
John Batten, Global Cities Director at Arcadis, said: “People-centric mobility is about the commuter – the person undertaking a journey on a daily basis. We want to make that experience more sustainable, more connected and more efficient. Cities need to understand what these changes will mean for current infrastructure assets, and how to plan for the future to truly make their mobility more people-centric. Their future success and the wellbeing of their citizens largely depends on the investments made now in the field of people-centric mobility.”
