Urban Mobility Solutions

It’s no secret Beijing policymakers completely abandoned the bicycle decades ago, handing their streets over to the automobile in the name of prosperity. But in recent years, those policymakers have done a stunning reversal, reallocating significant amounts of that space in the name of liveability. Motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in 2020, Beijing's transportation department introduced the development concept of "slow travel first, public transportation first, and green first"; implementing a three-year plan to continually improve the quality of the walking and cycling environment. Embodying the Dutch principles of cohesion, directness, safety, comfort and attractiveness; Beijing's network plan totals 220 kilometres in six districts, including a commitment to build a bike lane on every road more than 12 metres wide, and bike priority street (or "fietsstraat") on narrower ones. "Bicycles reflect a city's sustainable development its level of modern civilization. They take the least time to travel short distances, and can be used as a connecting tool between trains and buses, thereby expanding public transport's coverage." - Wang Shuling, Beijing Transport Research Institute. The policy shift is already yielding results: according to ITDP, (e-)cyclists in Beijing now represent 23% of commuters who have shifted from a car as their primary mode. This has contributed to an annual fuel consumption reduction of 60 million litres and decrease in CO2 emissions of 240,000 tons.

🚨 Want Dutch cycling levels? Study finds that #Paris' 240% surge in bicycle traffic since 2018 is the result of 1️⃣ building new bike infrastructure, 2️⃣ making streets pleasant and 3️⃣ making car use more difficult. Details: Between 2018 and 2023, Paris experienced an incredible 240% surge in bicycle traffic, a transformation that reshaped how millions move across the city. A recent study by Alexandre Lanvin, Jean Charléty, Guillaume FERREOL, Anatole Homann, Elliot Massey, Alix Vermeulen, and Alexandre Chasse in the Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research explores how public policies made this possible — and what truly drives sustainable cycling growth (link in comments). The findings are clear: infrastructure leads the way. The single most important factor behind Paris’s cycling success was the expansion of protected bike lanes, supported by more secure parking and a rapidly growing bike-sharing network (Vélib’). Together, these investments built trust, safety, and convenience — the foundations of everyday cycling. But the study also shows that success doesn’t come from infrastructure alone. Growth accelerated when cycling was made more pleasant and accessible through pedestrian zones, new green spaces, and the rise of e-bikes, which opened cycling to longer commutes and a broader population. Policies that made car use more difficult, such as low-emission zones and rising fuel prices, also played a role — though with social trade-offs that cities must manage carefully. Interestingly, the much-discussed ban on e-scooters had almost no effect on cycling levels. 💡 Key takeaway: Paris’s experience shows that sustainable cycling growth isn’t about a single silver bullet — it’s about creating a balanced ecosystem. Build safe, connected infrastructure first; enhance liveability and inclusivity next; and align restrictions with fairness. Paris’s journey proves that with consistent vision and investment, the bicycle can become a central pillar of urban mobility — not just a trend, but a transformation.

India's urban congestion is escalating due to the rapid rise in private vehicle ownership. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) reported a 9.5% annual growth in vehicle registrations, with Ahmedabad alone seeing over 1.5 lakh new vehicles yearly. This surge calls for a paradigm shift in how we approach urban mobility. Financial sustainability is key to transforming public transport systems into self-sustaining entities. Revenue diversification is crucial, and successful models like Transport for London, which generates substantial revenue through advertising and corporate partnerships, provide valuable insights. Indian systems are adopting similar strategies—premium services, advertising, and monetizing public spaces in metro and bus terminals are becoming vital revenue streams. Public transport networks can also play a role in logistics. The Indian Railways’ shift towards freight corridors, earning more from cargo than passengers, exemplifies this potential. By using existing bus and train networks for cargo, developing parcel hubs, and collaborating with e-commerce platforms, India's transport systems could not only ease urban congestion but also create new revenue streams. The future of mobility lies in multi-modal transport solutions. These integrated systems—comprising buses, trains, cycling, and shared mobility—offer the way forward. Projects like the Ahmedabad and Mumbai Metro expansions are pivotal in this vision. Mumbai's suburban trains, carrying over 7.5 million passengers daily, reduce the need for private vehicles. If replicated across cities, such solutions will be key to alleviating congestion. Cycling presents an untapped opportunity. Global cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen have set the bar, with over 40% of commuters cycling daily. Indian cities like Indore, Pune, and Bengaluru are already integrating cycling lanes and bike-sharing systems, promoting eco-friendly mobility. This shift can reduce fuel costs, lower pollution, and enhance public health, but challenges like safety concerns and inadequate infrastructure must be addressed. Shared mobility and electric vehicles (EVs) are transforming urban transport. Cities like Paris, where e-scooters replace millions of car trips annually, offer a glimpse into the future. Bengaluru and Hyderabad have already seen a 20-30% increase in shared mobility adoption. India is accelerating this shift with over 2,000 electric buses deployed under the FAME-II scheme in Gujarat. Digitalization plays a critical role in enhancing the efficiency of urban transport. Real-time passenger information, smart ticketing, online payments, and AI-based route optimization are now part of modern transport networks. The evolution of urban mobility in India is not just about reducing traffic but about creating a sustainable, efficient, and integrated transport ecosystem for the future. #publictransportation #electricvehicle #logistics #metro #multimodaltransport

Transit ridership in the US has struggled to come back from the pandemic. In new research at Urban Institute, I investigate how the situation compares with France by exploring pre- and post-2020 ridership trends in both countries' largest urban areas: https://lnkd.in/ePKvMVpE Key facts: —Before the pandemic, ridership in French urban areas was on the rise—as it plateaued or declined in most US urban areas. —During the pandemic, ridership fell MUCH more in US urban areas than in France. —Since 2020, ridership in French areas has more than recovered, while it's still down in the US. What's interesting is that these trends extend across many different urban areas. While ALL large US urban areas saw declines in per-capita transit use from 2015 to 2024, most French urban areas actually saw an increase! That's especially true in places like Bordeaux, Nice, and Rennes. One big problem that I highlight is that US transit agencies simply aren't providing the level of service they did pre-pandemic! Almost all US urban areas had less transit service provided in 2024 than in 2019. The Denver urban area is particularly bad. That's hitting ridership. Check out the full research, which includes an interactive graph, here: https://lnkd.in/ePKvMVpE

– A new study uses satellite data to reveal how remote and hybrid work reshaped emissions across major metros. – Before the pandemic, 119 million U.S. commuters collectively produced 762 billion pounds of CO2 annually. When remote work surged in 2020, global emissions dropped by 17% in just one month, revealing the immediate environmental effect of fewer cars on the road. – Satellite data from NASA and the European Space Agency confirm that metros with more workplace flexibility saw smaller post-pandemic spikes in greenhouse gases, particularly traffic-sensitive NO2. – Flexible metros also grew economically—real GDP growth in the most flexible cities was double that of the least flexible ones in 2022, showing that sustainability and profitability can align. – Remote and hybrid models don’t just reduce emissions; they also enhance productivity and urban livability, offering leaders a rare chance to meet both ESG goals and business objectives. Do you think flexible work should be viewed as part of a company’s climate strategy?

🚨 New Publication in Demography 🚨 📍 Beyond the Immediate Impacts of COVID-19 on Internal Population Movements in Mexico: Facebook Data Reveal Urban Decay and Slow Recovery Thrilled to share our latest work with Miguel González-Leonardo, Carmen Cabrera, Ruth Neville and Andrea Nasuto. Using anonymised mobile phone location data from Facebook, we examine how long-distance internal mobility patterns in Mexico evolved from April 2020 to May 2022. While much has been said about urban exodus in the Global North, our findings show no mass outflows from large cities in Mexico —but instead, a sharp and sustained decline in mobility, especially in the most densely populated urban areas. Key findings: 📉 Long-distance movements dropped by 40% in 2020, >50% in major cities ⏳ Recovery was slowest in urban areas—still 20–25% below pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022 🌍 Offers the first medium-term evidence from the Global South on COVID-19’s uneven impacts across the rural–urban hierarchy 🛰️ Our work highlights the power of digital trace data to study population movements where official statistics are lacking, and the need for more inclusive data systems in unequal, urbanised contexts. 🔗 Read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/eXzGfJ3t 💡 OSF repo with code and data: https://osf.io/nrc26/ Thanks to our partners at ECLAC and the Smart Data Research UK DEBIAS project (ESRC ES/Y010787/1) for their support. #HumanMobility #COVID19 #Mexico #UrbanStudies #DigitalDemography #FacebookData #PopulationScience #GlobalSouth #DEBIAS

🚍 Part 2: The Rise of BRT — North America’s New Transit Workhorse In the years following the pandemic, something remarkable has happened in U.S. and Canadian public transit. While light rail and streetcar ridership remain below pre-COVID levels, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has bounced back—fully recovering its riders and expanding across the country. According to APTA’s 2025 Factbook, BRT systems not only regained their momentum but are now attracting record investment. Among the 50 current US Capital Investment Grant (CIG) projects nationwide, 30 are BRT projects—compared to just 4 light rail and 2 streetcar systems. Why the surge? Three words: cost, flexibility, and speed. 💰 Lower Cost: Cities can build a BRT corridor for a fraction of the price of light rail. The Mississauga-Dundas BRT in Toronto is expected to cost about $103M per mile—compared to over $560M per mile for Maryland’s Purple Line. In Atlanta, shifting from a planned $2.9B light rail line to a $1.4B BRT project saved over $1.5 billion. ⚡ Faster Delivery: BRT projects can leverage existing roadways and begin operations far sooner than rail systems that require extensive new infrastructure. 🔄 Operational Flexibility: BRT routes can serve both dedicated lanes and regular streets—extending transit access without the limitations of fixed rail. This shift doesn’t signal the end of light rail or streetcars. In cities like Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Portland, rail expansion continues where it makes sense—especially in corridors with established systems or dense, transit-oriented growth. But across most U.S. metros—Raleigh, Miami, Madison, Minneapolis, Austin, and more—the story is clear: BRT has become the preferred choice for fast, scalable, and equitable transit investment. As we rethink mobility for the next decade, BRT offers a powerful solution: high-quality transit without the high cost and long delivery time of rail.

The 2025 European Shared Mobility report dropped last week... The headline numbers are good: 709 million trips and €1.45bn in revenue, up 16% and 9%, respectively. But the numbers aren't the story, here's what's actually happening: 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿. Total vehicles across all modes are DOWN 3% whilst total trips are UP 16%. Every single segment, bikes, scooters, mopeds, shows the same pattern: fewer vehicles, more rides. The industry spent years measuring success by how many vehicles it could deploy. That era is over. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲. 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆. The Uber playbook of flooding streets with vehicles and figuring out regulations later is long dead. Every major 2025 story from Oslo doubling its scooter fleet after a structured tender, Paris overhauling its private bike contracts, Brussels finally capping its scooter market, is a city making a deliberate choice first. Operators respond; they no longer lead! 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. Spain announced €20M in public bike funding in late 2024. In 2025, Madrid hit a monthly ridership record, Barcelona crossed 100 million lifetime trips, whilst Lyon went fully electric and climbed the European rankings. This isn't a coincidence; public investment in 2024 is directly visible in 2025 ridership. A major study this year found every €1 invested in bike-sharing returns at least €1.10 in economic, health and environmental value. Cities now have the evidence to justify the spending politically. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿. Italy's mandatory helmet law for scooters wiped 28% off ridership in a single year. Not a recession, not a pandemic, not new competition - one regulatory change. Florence then banned shared scooters entirely, and Prague followed. The operators with sustainable businesses are those building genuine relationships with cities, not just deploying fleets and hoping for the best. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲/𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 - 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. Paris now charges private bike operators up to €4m per year (up from €600k). That's not just a fee, it's a statement: dockless bikes are public infrastructure, and cities expect to be compensated for the street space and civic value they provide. Other cities are watching this one closely. Over the coming weeks, I'll aim to provide a deep dive into each segment, covering the numbers, the dynamics, and what comes next. [Report by Fluctuo - link in comments] #SharedMobility #UrbanMobility #Micromobility

Public transit’s future will not be won by rebuilding for 2019. That world is gone. The need is not. San Francisco’s Muni recorded 14.9 million riders in March, its highest monthly total since the pandemic collapse. Nationally, riders took 8.1 billion transit trips in 2025. Up 6%. That is not nostalgia. That is a signal. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show the average U.S. household spent more than $13,000 on transportation in 2024. When fuel prices rise, car dependence is not just inconvenient. For families already stretched, it is a wall. Riders return when the trip works: When the bus shows up. When the train feels safe. When the system respects their time. That is the lesson beyond transit. Public systems do not earn trust by asking people to return. They earn it by working for the lives people actually live now. That requires reliable service and sustained investment in the systems people depend on. Transit is not a relic. It is infrastructure for what comes next. #PublicTransit

Our new paper shows that disruptions like OSU football games and COVID both have major negative impacts on public transit accessibility and reliability. Not just the Ohio Stadium or the lockdown, but everywhere all at once. Check https://lnkd.in/dB4QavGG Public transit face higher risks from disruptions. However, few studies offered a holistic analysis on long- and short-term disruptions’ impacts on public transit accessibility and reliability. We use realizable and scheduled accessibility to measure performance variation. We use two real-life disruptions, OSU Football Games and COVID-19, as the example for short- and long-term disruptions. We focus on Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) system and Columbus, Ohio as the case study site. We find users access less places during OSU Football games. We find that there are two peaks of unreliability before and after each game. This shows that OSU football games caused system-level disruption for public transit system and transit riders. If we look at each individual game day, this pattern is even more obvious and consistent. Each game had two high value of unreliability before and after the start and end time. Another very interesting fact is that despite no on-site games for away game days, unreliability is still higher than non-game days In terms of geospatial pattern: notice that unreliability is not just near the stadium, but among most of the stops in the city. Localized event can cause delays to propagate throughout the transit system, causing reductions in reliability citywide. Our method can also be applied to the long-term disruptions. The prime example is COVID-19 pandemic. We show the trend of accessibility and reliability from 2019 to 2022. Notice the major drop during the lockdown, but they never really recover to the former level during 2021. So as the unreliability. In fact, the system first became more reliable during the first phase of the pandemic, showing evidence that less traffic on road caused the reliability to rise. But the service cut increased the unreliability soon after. Spatial analysis also shows a very heterogenous pattern. The downtown area, with the most ridership and service, was less affected by the COVID-19 and service cut. Other places, such as some suburb neighborhoods in the Northeastern part of he city, suffered major performance loss. High-level insights: 1) Realizable accessibility and accessibility unreliability (https://lnkd.in/dkjanVSV) can serve as a high-fidelity, highly scalable performance measure for transit reliability and resiliency. 2) Football game, as a localized event, can have broad and extensive negative impacts on the performance of the public transit system. 3) COVID plunged the accessibility and reliability of the transit service. And accessibility must be considered in tandem with unreliability for a comprehensive understanding of system performance.