How can different forms of shared mobility - car-sharing, city bikes, electric scooters - contribute to the fairness and sustainability of transport in European agglomerations, especially on their periphery? The AMU Faculty of Sociology will study this phenomenon.
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, jointly with universities, urban centres and companies from Germany, Sweden, Italy, Canada and Poland, is conducting a project entitled “Shared mobility services towards equitable and sustainable mobilities (Share4Equity)”. The Polish team is led by Dr Filip Schmidt from the AMU Faculty of Sociology.
Researchers will explore the supply of and access to different types of shared mobility (MW) in selected European cities and the factors that impact this demand and availability. The project also seeks to improve understanding of the perspectives of users and non-users of market-based and informal forms of MW and other transport modes. Researchers aim to discover which modes and places respondents perceive as accessible and inaccessible to themselves and what determines these perceptions. They also intend to develop a toolkit for the conceptual, quantitative and qualitative analysis of the local mobility system and the current and potential importance of MW for local mobility systems in terms of different types and equity criteria.
As highlighted by the researchers, shared mobility is a fast-growing domain in which the hope of decreasing car dependency and embodying ideas like the 15-minute city is seen. However, the development rate of this form of mobility varies greatly. Firstly, there are differences between countries and metropolitan areas. Whereas in some there is an extensive offer and the proportion of shared travel, in others it remains at a low level. Secondly, across countries and agglomerations, however, access to MW often varies enormously. In general, socio-demographically and economically advantaged people and areas with the right competencies are more likely to benefit. In particular, access to MW is reduced outside agglomeration centres. It seems to be due to both market mechanisms and policy differences, with MW, often not embedded in broader spatial planning processes and local transport policies. At the same time, there are also informal forms of mobility sharing, which, in some contexts, can be significant in reducing individual car mobility.
In Poland, scientists are launching research in the Poznań and Upper Silesian agglomerations.
The project is funded by the National Centre for Research and Development under the Driving Urban Transitions 2023 programme, co-financed by the European Union. Its implementation will last until 2027.