Personal urban mobility for the twenty-first century

Abstract

Mobility enhances our lives by allowing contact with others, offering new experiences and supporting the exchange of ideas and goods. Cities facilitate connecting people and goods but their roads are becoming increasingly crowded. This is particularly acute in emerging markets, with increased migration from rural to urban areas and with increasingly wealthy people aspiring to automobile ownership. Despite heavily congested roads, there is still a desire for personal mobility in urban centers because no other means of transportation has so far offered the same mix of freedom, comfort, utility and security as the automobile. However, a new kind of vehicle, based on having a small footprint, being electrically powered and being able to connect with other vehicles will be required in the future to provide personal mobility while addressing the societal challenges of energy, environment, safety, congestion and land use for parking. This new DNA for the automobile, based on electrification and connectivity, will also improve the integration of personal and public transport so that a new mobility system, offering the best features of both, can be realized.