Urban mobility refers to how citizens move within and between cities, with its primary aim being providing sustainable, efficient, inclusive and safe transport systems for its inhabitants.
Implementing quality public transportation systems helps decrease dependence on automobiles and reduce traffic fatality rates while helping bridge urban services gaps between rich and poor locations.
Definition
Urban mobility refers to the ability of citizens to travel across cities and towns for work, shopping, leisure activities, car sharing or delivery services. This includes walking and public transport as well as driving services or car sharing models like Zipcar or car sharing programs.
Air taxis and other innovative technologies that reduce congestion and emissions by taking vehicles off of the roads should also be considered innovations that contribute to this category.
Though challenging, urban mobility transformation remains an essential goal of every city. Sustainable, efficient, and inclusive transport systems that meet all of their residents’ needs – such as job access and education access for those without adequate transportation options; pollution reduction efforts; social inclusion. The World Bank is helping cities realize this vision with projects to promote electromobility; create safer streets; rethink connectivity issues – to name but a few – but still meet this objective.
Modes of transport
Urban mobility utilizes various modes of transport. These range from walking or cycling for personal travel; commercial operations such as retail distribution; tourism trips; metro trains, buses, trams and trains to ridesharing services and Matatus (informal three- and two-wheelers).
Effective urban mobility planning helps alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution, making cities more accessible for citizens. Furthermore, effective urban mobility planning encourages more eco-friendly modes of transport like cycling infrastructure and bike-sharing programs as well as gender equality initiatives that enhance quality of life for larger portions of humanity.
Accessibility
Accessibility should be put at the core of urban mobility improvements to reap long-term social, economic, and environmental advantages. Planners should develop an in-depth knowledge of their city boundaries; identify those affected most by access issues; then prioritize and implement improvement projects accordingly.
This article seeks to fill this void by exploring the impact of SSUM implementation on accessibility in NCAT capital cities, while also noting any impedances encountered by people and strategies for identifying vulnerable groups. Furthermore, it presents a methodology to evaluate accessibility before and after implementation allowing comparison between various cities for further insight into how different interventions produce different results.
Safety
As world populations rise, safe and sustainable urban mobility becomes more essential than ever. To achieve this goal, more walkable streets, bicycle-friendly cities, and an array of public transport options must be introduced into urban environments.
Urban transportation systems that prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety can play an essential role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions while creating a safer environment. Unfortunately, many cities find difficulty meeting their goals for this area of urban planning.
This research work proposes a modified Delphi-AHP-TOPSIS model which facilitates identification and prioritization of factors that undermine road safety in urban areas, using inventories as an aid to developing measures and policies tailored specifically to each urban location in order to reduce road accidents worldwide and even eliminate them over time.
Efficiency
Efficiency measures aim to help cities reduce both costs and environmental impacts associated with urban mobility, including improving public transport performance, offering convenient and cost-effective bike rental/sharing systems, reducing traffic congestion and mitigating accidents.
Encourage New Behaviors: Measures such as pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods, safe cycling infrastructure and improved passenger funneling at metro stations are examples of measures which improve efficiency by redirecting trips away from private car travel. Furthermore, effective promotion and incentive schemes that encourage travellers to switch active modes of transport such as cycling or walking should also be put in place to promote these alternatives.
Adopting sustainable change to urban modal split will take considerable effort, and early success with quick wins such as installing bus priority lanes or optimizing taxi service schedules are vital in maintaining momentum.