This indicates where we need to place our focus if we want to make mobility more affordable. Passenger cars need to find a happy medium between the legal requirements in terms of carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions and affordable road capability.
Because, after all, these vehicles will continue to be indispensable in rural areas. However, the current trend toward owning a second or third car is expected to reverse. “Households will purchase more bicycles and small vehicles rather than multiple personal vehicles. Car sharing will replace car ownership, with people switching cars more frequently; as a result, the changeover to electric drives will occur more quickly than we had thought”, says Tilman Bracher, Head of Mobility at the German Institute of Urban Affairs.
His classification outlines two major trends: On the one hand, micro-mobility – such as e-scooters – will reduce urban traffic and also be financially attractive. On the other, mobility will increasingly become a service, based on the premise of nevertheless reaching the destination comfortably, safely, and quickly. Intermodal mobility, which involves using various modes of transport on a given route, is blurring the sharp line between individual mobility and public transportation. Intelligently managed and perfectly coordinated, this new mix of transportation options should bring together all the respective benefits: making mobility as affordable as a bus or train ticket while, at the same time, making it as easily available as a taxi or your own car.