Why decarbonized mobility needs a strong social component?
Decision makers need to ensure that the future of mobility, and decarbonization of the transport sector, include low income areas and people living outside of cities, experts told the Mobility Sphere’s first forum in Amsterdam in October 2023. Any failure to make mobility inclusive could have dramatic consequences for our societies if large parts of the population feel they are being left behind, they said.
“Successful mobility has to be inclusive,” said Zeina Nazer, co-founder of Cities Forum. “Everybody needs equal rights to move from home to school, to work or to run errands,” she said.
Most efforts towards increasing and improving public transport are happening in cities, while many people on the outskirts or in rural areas rely on cars to get around. But the future of that model is in doubt as individual ownership of cars and their carbon footprint are increasingly under scrutiny.
“We have to make sure in rural areas that you don’t need to be dependent on a car to get to a school, a shop or work,” Elke Van den Brandt, Brussels Minister responsible for Mobility, told The Mobility Times in an interview during the Amsterdam forum.
But while wealthier inhabitants may be able to make the switch to an electric car relatively easily, that option is not open to everybody. Many risk getting cut off from transport altogether if they can no longer use their car, and lose work opportunities.
The stakes are high, said Karima Delli, Euro MP and Chair of the Transport Committee.
“If we fail to solve the climate question and the social question at the same time we will create dramatic divisions in our societies,” Karima Delli said.
Such divisions could create more movements like the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) in France that started out as a protest against a carbon tax and grew into a wide movement of social discontent. Another risk is political, with social dissatisfaction favouring populists parties.
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“What we are trying to prevent is the green transition and European Green Deal on decarbonization becoming a controversial topic like migration,” said Katarina Csefalvayova, Director of the Institute for Central Europe and Executive Lead of the Danube Tech Valley Initiative.
“We must make sure that people are well-informed and that they do not feel that they have been left out of the process, that they have a seat at the table,” she told The Mobility Times. Experts said decision-makers must keep in mind that many people living far from city centers use their cars because public transport alternatives are not readily available. “They need more attention because they sometimes don’t have other choices than using their private cars,” said Samah Karaki, a neuro-scientist and founder of the Social Brain Institute.
“We have to make sure that the most vulnerable people can continue to live full lives despite all the changes,” Samah Karaki said.
“This is why all changes linked to the environment cannot be separated from the question of social justice,” Karaki told the Amsterdam forum.
About the mobility times
We are proud to present the first issue of The Mobility Times, a magazine that documents the journey of The Mobility Sphere, a think tank created by Transdev dedicated to tomorrow’s mobility. Each issue will focus on the themes of The Mobility Sphere’s forums.
The current issue covers the first forum held in Amsterdam on October 4 2023, where experts from varied backgrounds explored the theme “Decarbonized mobility, mobility for all: Transforming the way we move”. The issue contains highlights of their talks, interviews with participants, key quotes and insights, profiles and analysis of the challenges ahead, associated with Transdev Group’s expertise and experience.