Study by the Future Institute: Corona Crisis Ushers in a New Era of Mobility

In this context, the author introduces the term Mobility Seeker for people who do not commit to a single mode of transport. For them, movement in space becomes a playful experience. Especially in big cities, Carsten increasingly sees people who are happy to take advantage of the wide range of transport options. Depending on the need, Mobility Seekers switch between carsharing, e-scooters, bicycles, or public transport. Wasting life time in traffic jams is no longer acceptable. Carsten sees a new era dawning, with the mobility transition massively influencing urban and spatial development.

"Ownership of means of transportation is being replaced by sharing. Park-and-ride as well as bike-and-ride locations become multifunctional and lively mobility spaces. The different transport providers – whether public or private – must not see each other as competition, but offer all-inclusive mobility, via app and in the physical space," says Carsten.

Road Diet: Streets on a Diet – and Redistribution

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a trend already initiated by some cities. Public space is being redistributed. The space for cars is increasingly being pushed back, with pedestrians and cyclists gaining more room. While some cities like Berlin are adjusting their traffic strategy, Milan, Paris, and London are planning a fundamental reorientation. Parking spaces are turning into bike lanes and zones of interaction. Urban planning experts are in demand to develop new concepts for a sustainable design of public space. Cities have a responsibility here: Urban quality of life arises only through resilient, healthy, and sustainable spatial architecture.

Delivery Bots and Autonomous Cities

Traffic routes must increasingly accommodate delivery bots, the scientist further advocates.

Autonomous Processes in Delivery Traffic Change Mobility

Rising e-commerce revenues will, in his opinion, lead to increased use of delivery robots that deliver products efficiently and hygienically. Autonomous processes will not only fundamentally change mobility. Already more than one billion passengers per year are transported through Europe's cities by driverless public transport. The self-driving car is still a thing of the future, and cities and regions must decide which autonomous future they choose: Do bicycles and pedestrians have priority, or do technical systems, asks the author?

For Stefan Carsten, it is clear: Autonomous driving will come; the development is already well advanced. And it will have many advantages: Traffic will become safer and cars will evolve into active places for staying and working. Interior and entertainment equipment will be decisive criteria for choosing a vehicle. Other focal topics of the Mobility Report 2021 are: Healthy Mobility – Health as a Driver of Urban Mobility, and Corona Mobility Shift – the triumph of the bicycle, the individual protective space of the car, and the crisis of sharing services as well as public transport as immediate consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.