New mobility services and business models are changing urban transport, affecting both the supply and demand sides of urban mobility market. Evidence shows that these developments can lead to a significant reduction of single occupancy private car use and an increase of public transport use, leading to a strong reduction in congestion, local air pollution, and CO2 emissions.
Does car sharing really reduce car use? This provocative statement is the title of a new T&E briefing aimed at highlighting the benefits car sharing brings. It forms part of a growing debate on ‘collaborative economies’, an area in which the European Commission is looking to plug a legislative gap in an attempt to maximise the environmental potential from trade that involves sharing established assets.
The role of shared mobility in shaping European transport is likely to be influenced by a Spanish case referred to the European Court of Justice. A judge in Barcelona has asked the court to rule on whether Uber, the smartphone application for hailing taxis, often unlicensed, should be regulated as a digital or transport service. Meanwhile, the European Commission has launched its own investigation into how to deal with Uber, which will run in parallel with the court case.
Transport is not the most innovative of sectors so when the top people of Uber, Google, Nokia, Zipcar and BlaBlaCar got together at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig last week, there was an air of excitement. The picture they painted was of a radically different transport system, revolutionized by the internet, mobile phones and autonomous, electric driving. What this could mean for people was captured well by Philippe Crist from the OECD. He estimates the advent of the digital age could reduce the number of cars by an eye-popping 90% in urban areas.
Über die Auswirkungen der Einführung der Lkw-Maut in Europa.
Eine Analyse europäischer Biokraftstoffpolitik mit Handlungsemfehlungen
Three-quarters of the 20 major car brands sold in Europe last year have failed to improve fuel efficiency at the rate needed to meet a key EU climate target, new figures show. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car brand in terms of sales, has improved fuel efficiency at less than half the rate needed. In contrast, Renault, Europe’s second biggest brand and a direct competitor of VW, is on track to meet the target for the average new car sold to emit 140 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre by 2008. Renault reduced its emissions by twice as much as VW. Download press release (pdf): english | français | deutsch Download the T&E report (pdf): How Clean is Your Car Brand? (english only) Download selected media coverage (2.5mb pdf)
