In recent years, numerous new mobility options have emerged and found their way into our cities: E-mobility, car sharing, ridepooling, e-scooters and many more. These new forms of mobility are part of a mobility transition and can be summarised as New Mobility. But what are the characteristics of this emerging mobility space? Find out more about the most important mobility trends, the mobility of tomorrow and how this is changing the way we get around.
The way we move from A to B has changed dramatically in recent years. A key term describing these changes is "New Mobility". But what exactly stands behind this expression and how will it shape the way we get around in the future? In this article, we take a look at the emergence of New Mobility, its challenges, the latest mobility trends and the impact that it has on companies.
New Mobility - sometimes called intelligent mobility or smart mobility - is based on the digitalisation and connectivity of conventional transport modes. New mobility offers take advantage of the internet and the widespread use of mobile devices.
The term New Mobility summarises many innovations and concepts around the topic of urban mobility, such as micromobility, car sharing, ride-hailing, smart parking.
More and more people are living in large cities and urban agglomerations. Cities are becoming more densely populated, and the space available and to be distributed is becoming scarcer. This leads to many social and environmental challenges:
In order to meet these challenges in the future, more efficient transport systems are required. This is where New Mobility concepts come in.
New Mobility tries to meet these challenges with intelligent and innovative mobility solutions. The most important goals of New Mobility concepts include:
Data-based control systems and the networking between vehicles and these traffic systems ensure modern and sustainable traffic infrastructures. When traffic lights and vehicles are networked, for example, traffic not only runs faster and more smoothly, but there is also enormous potential for saving CO2.
It is much easier for people in cities to do without a private car if they can effectively use sharing services such as car sharing or ride-hailing at any time, i.e. flexibly and at the lowest possible prices.
The advantage of sharing services: Private cars stand around unused 98 percent of the time, whereas a car-sharing vehicle is on the move more often. According to studies, one car-sharing vehicle can replace between 8 and 20 cars. This saves space, which benefits the general public.
For very few people, the underground or suburban railway stops right outside the front door. The offer of the "last mile" is crucial to motivate people to leave their car at home.
In recent years, e-scooters or rental bikes have hit the streets in German cities to address the last mile issue. However, many cities still lack the appropriate infrastructure to make their use safer and more attractive.
Micromobility includes small and light means of transport - often with electric drive - such as electric bicycles, e-scooters, Segways or even cargo bikes. An analysis by McKinsey shows: The market for micromobility will grow about three times as fast as that for car-sharing services by 2030.
Attractive public transport should achieve two goals: 1. transport more passengers from A to B; 2. emit fewer emissions.
By switching to alternative fuels and expanding electrification, cities and municipalities are already on their way to achieving the goal of lower emissions. However, to make public transport so attractive that more people use buses and trains instead of cars, the right offers and incentives are needed:
Up to 40 percent of urban traffic is accounted for by the search for parking spaces alone. With modern parking space management or smart parking, traffic in cities can be made more efficient. Because even if cars are shared more in the future and can drive autonomously at some point, they still need to be parked and parked safely. These solutions promote smart parking management:
Companies can combine New Work working models such as home office or hybrid working with New Mobility offerings and offer their employees a monthly mobility budget as an employee benefit. Employees can use a mobility budget flexibly for their daily mobility and thus use New Mobility such as car sharing or micromobility or combine these forms of mobility with public transport.
It makes everyday life easier for employees and relieves them financially due to tax advantages. But companies can also benefit from a mobility budget by using tax incentives and also standing out as a modern and attractive employer on the labour market.
Everyday working life in 2023 will be different from just a few years ago. The reason for this is not only the Corona pandemic, but also further advancing digitalisation, which enables home offices and hybrid working, and last but not least an increasingly acute climate crisis. As a result, fewer and fewer households own a second car.
According to a study by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), 28.3 percent of German households still owned two or more cars in 2020. This means a decrease of 17.8 percent compared to 2009.
Currently rising costs for heating and energy, as well as inflation, are reinforcing this development. For many households, it will (have to) be possible with only one vehicle. Some households are thinking about their own carbon footprint and are making a conscious decision to give up their second car. In 2023, more people than ever before are interested in alternatives to the car, such as car sharing, e-bikes and public transport, in order to become less dependent on their car.
In the summer months, more and more people in the cities do without a car on their way to work and prefer to cycle. They almost only use their own car in winter. This trend was already apparent in 2022 and is continuing at an accelerated pace in 2023.
In this case, car subscriptions are attractive. They are currently becoming more and more popular. Car subscriptions can be taken out for only a few months, and the monthly instalment includes all costs except for refuelling.
Both car sharing services and car manufacturers are increasingly dabbling in this market, as driving a car is not only becoming more expensive overall, but a long-term commitment to a car no longer seems as attractive as it used to be. For many people, the car is no longer a status symbol; they prefer flexibility.
The demand for electric bicycles has increased particularly strongly in the last three years. The high demand had the effect that e-bikes had similar delivery times as many car models. With some delay, the boom of e-cargo bikes is now setting in. For many people in the city, e-cargo bikes offer a real alternative to the car or to the tedious transport of shopping by bus and train, thanks to generous front or rear loading options.
However, e-cargo bikes can be expensive to purchase, which is why sharing services for them are increasingly springing up in major cities such as Berlin, Hamburg or Munich. In these cities, e-cargo bikes can already be rented in the same way as car sharing - via smartphone app. Especially in densely populated urban areas and in areas with a high parking shortage, e-cargo bikes are becoming a real car alternative, as it is easier to get through traffic and find a parking space almost everywhere. E-load bikes are also being used more and more by the growing number of delivery services.
E-bikes, e-scooters and e-load bikes are in vogue. Due to their flexibility, speed and low environmental impact, these forms of mobility offer a climate-friendly and efficient alternative to conventional means of transport. Micro-mobility is particularly suitable for companies to adapt operational mobility strategies to the needs of an increasingly urbanised and digitalised world.
Employees can get from one place to another quickly and easily without being stuck in traffic jams, without the hassle of looking for a parking space and without having to rely on public transport. Companies also benefit from this trend, such as lower operating costs and less need for parking.
E-load bikes, on the other hand, represent an innovative mobility solution for inner-city logistics. Companies can thus transport goods and materials in an environmentally friendly way and reduce emissions and traffic congestion.
A mobility budget as an alternative to a company car. This is becoming more and more of a reality in many companies. Changing working models and ways of working of employees also mean changing requirements and needs in terms of personal mobility.
Instead of a company car as a status symbol, many young employees take a more pragmatic approach and want more flexibility from their employer. Employees want to organise their commute to work and their private journeys as efficiently and environmentally friendly as possible and combine them without having to rely on a car.
Companies can respond to this with a flexible mobility budget for their employees to meet the increased mobility needs. Employees are given more options and can freely choose between public transport, car sharing, micromobility or ride-hailing and thus find the most suitable means of transport for themselves. Companies benefit from more satisfied employees and a more attractive employer brand.
Mobility will be more diverse and sustainable in the future. People's mobility behaviour is already changing today. People do not exclusively use one specific means of transport, but a variety of transport options to get where they want to go. This development will continue, also thanks to new forms and offers of mobility.
The networking of vehicles, new mobility offers such as sharing mobility or micromobility, more automation and electrification will in future contribute to people - especially in urban areas - increasingly giving up their cars and switching to other means of transport - bicycles, public transport, sharing vehicles. People will therefore travel more and more multimodally, but not only. Intermodality, i.e. the combination of different means of transport within one journey, will also increase.
This also means that the future of mobility is based on digitalisation. Big data, blockchain, 5G, artificial intelligence and greater connectivity increase road safety, improve efficiency and reduce the burden on people and the environment.
