A favourable context for urban mobility
The evolution of modern urban mobility offers a new comfort of life.
Historically, owning a personal vehicle was the key to easy travel. Today, habits and needs are changing. The French are moving around more, for various reasons (work, shopping, leisure, etc.). The government is therefore tending to develop economical and sustainable modes of transport. Urban mobility is therefore becoming multimodal. In fact, individual means of transport are complementing the public transport offer. Bicycles, electric scooters and car-sharing are becoming part of the urban landscape. The latter, with their lower carbon impact, combine practicality and respect for the environment.
Soft mobility, declining purchasing power, growing new technologies and the emergence of new forms of transport: after an overview of urban mobility, discover why it is perfectly suited to the current context.
Declining purchasing power
In addition to the need to relieve traffic congestion and limit the impact of combustion vehicles on the environment, owning a private car and commuting alone comes at a cost. Owning a car also creates an incentive for car owners not to consider other travel options. A car can perfectly complement urban mobility services, whether soft or collective. In addition, there are two advantages to considering some trips differently: individuals reduce their consumption of fossil fuels and save money.
Individual daily mobility represents a cost that is offset by multipleurban mobility offers. In this respect, companies are obliged to cover 50% of the cost of transport passes used by employees to get to their place of work. In addition, residents of the Ile-de-France region with a Navigo card (a transport pass for the region) can use Vélibs' (self-service bicycles).
Other offers encourage active people, who prefer the road network, to use the carpooling service. Anyone holding a transport card in the IDF is entitled to two free journeys of less than 30 kilometers per day. Drivers receive compensation ranging from 1.50 to 3 €, and up to 150 € for daily (home-work) trips.
Favoring urban mobility offers undoubted savings. Indeed, there are significant advantages to using public or private transport passes and urban mobility services. Faced with the price of oil, the need to maintain a vehicle, increasingly strict technical controls, the need to have insurance and the decline of free parking, having a personal vehicle generates real costs.
At the national level, the government is currently allocating a substantial budget to the development of public transport and is reducing the portfolio of expenditure on road improvements.
The development of new technologies
The emergence of new technologies is benefiting the development of modern urban mobility. Indeed, the implementation of new technologies facilitates the daily life of users of public transport and soft modes of locomotion. Thanks to the applications, access to bus, train, RER, etc. schedules is easy. In addition, users have access to useful information in real time (traffic, delays, incidents, etc.). The accessibility of the information needed for a smooth journey reduces the degree of apprehension of travelers.
A lever for everyday life
Connected phones improve the daily lives of multimodal transport users. From now on, anticipating a trip is easy. Sites such as Mappy, which used to offer itineraries by car, motorized two-wheelers, bicycle and public transport, now offer the option of electric scooters. With this in mind, it is now possible to plan a trip combining soft and urban mobility.
New technologies also make it possible to book a trip online, as well as pay for it. This option, which is appreciated by all, reduces the stress caused by having to go to the station to find out about transport schedules or to obtain a ticket.
Moreover, you don't need to know every corner of a city to get around easily. Bus lines, subway lines, bicycle lanes, car-sharing stations, etc. are listed online and accessible in a few clicks.
Collecting relevant data and information
The use of new technologies also makes it possible toanalyze the energy consumption of the various modes of travel present in a well-defined urban area. Thus, it is possible toevaluate the relevance of the infrastructures and services available, but also to learn more about the mobility of the population. The data collected (ridership, peak usage, etc.) allows communities to adapt services to the needs of the population.
Thanks to connected phones and collaborative applications, road users are able to report disruptions encountered during a trip (accident, road works, vehicle at a standstill, breakdown, etc.). In this case, other users are offered an alternative route, which ensures a smoother traffic flow.
The applications also make it possible to quickly find a car-sharing or self-service bicycle area. In other words, these applications improve the daily lives of city dwellers on several levels.
The deployment of new modes of transportation
Large cities are increasingly looking to ban the use of vehicles with internal combustion engines. Urban mobility is changing and new modes of transportation are emerging.
Today, electric mobility services are booming. And for good reason, scooters and car-sharing of electric vehicles have many advantages, including :
- self-service access;
- no need to own a personal vehicle.
In response to this development, charging stations (also for electric vehicle owners) are becoming part of the urban landscape.
Other means of electric locomotion, fast, small and durable, are increasingly appearing in urban areas. However, it is important to remember that these vehicles must be used in compliance with the regulations in force:
- circulate on the lanes reserved for this purpose;
- have position lights;
- Respect the traffic regulations;
- do not wear headphones;
- etc.
For example, many people mistakenly use motorized personal mobility devices (PMDs) such as electric scooters, hoverboards or scooters on sidewalks.
Finally, electric bicycles have definite advantages. The government is therefore encouraging the population to adopt this sustainable means of transportation for short and medium trips and is promoting the purchase of these modern vehicles. In fact, the French can benefit from a subsidy ranging from 300 to 2000 € for any purchase of an EV.
The traffic of thermal public and individual transport causes noise pollution, which is a source of discomfort for city dwellers. When it comes to mobility, large cities aim to combine efficiency and quality. These two parameters are essential to improving the quality of life in urban areas. Today, the individual is at the heart of urban mobility. The services offered by local authorities must be efficient, accessible, economical and sustainable. Finally, new technologies, which are now omnipresent, are becoming a major asset for cities, politicians and users.
The evolution of "consciousness" and the current society are shaping a context favorable to the development of multimodal urban mobility.
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