With increasing awareness of the impacts of current practices in transport and vehicle use, a new sustainable mobility paradigm is taking place. Previously, social aspects were not regarded in transportation and mobility planning. But advancements in research studies have pointed out a strong link and correlation between societal behaviour and achieving sustainable mobility in the future. This blog presents why electric vehicles are a vital component of future sustainability models.
Introduction
By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live, commute, and work in urban areas (UN, 2018). Keeping in view these figures, cities will undergo significant transformations to create sustainable living conditions for residents. As cities will require mobility and energy solutions that are sustainable, affordable, secure, and inclusive, with integrated customer-centric infrastructure and services, mobility will change rapidly with the proliferation of electric cars, ride-sharing, and the introduction of autonomous vehicles in urban fleets. These changes will coincide with the evolution towards a cleaner, more decentralised and digitalised energy system and services. As the future of mobility will be primarily related to the energy sector, a multistakeholder and market-specific approach will be needed. By prioritising high-use vehicles to kickstart the revolution in the transport industry, a steady adoption of electric vehicles can be achieved. Therefore, the infrastructure requirements needed for introducing electric vehicles is key to the transformation of mobility.
Understanding Mobility and Role of Electric Vehicles in Bringing Change
The future of mobility lies in a more electric, more connected, and more autonomous transport network. Public and private sector stakeholders develop policies, deploy infrastructure, and follow business models on current mobility patterns and vehicle ownership norms. This accelerates a cities’ ability to meet climate goals, optimise grid infrastructure, enable innovation of services infrastructure, increase productivity, and generate economic growth. Current transport systems have a negative impact on human health and the environment. The use of fossil fuels has harmed the local air quality and our climate. Exhaust emissions of CO2 and harmful air pollutants such as nitrous oxides and particulate matter is by far the main reason why incorporating electric vehicles is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, particularly if the electricity comes from renewable resources. Almost all countries are doing something to promote electric vehicles. However, relatively few countries have achieved a significant increase in market adoption. (EEA, 2016)
Model for Adoption of Electric Vehicles
Urban mobility and infrastructure are evolving to incorporate more and more electric vehicles into the transport network. An alternative strategy of transformation is now challenging this strategy of the proliferation of electric vehicles. The process accelerates the ability of cities to meet climate goals, optimise grid infrastructure investments, enable innovation of services, and dramatically increase productivity and generate economic growth. An effective transformation requires policy and regulatory reforms that go beyond decarbonisation only. There should also be a focus on creating smarter cities, aggregated efficiency, and productivity. This would require a convergence of energy, mobility, and infrastructural planning at the municipal, regional, and national levels. Moreover, the growth of mobility-as-a-service and the increase in the number of autonomous vehicles will significantly alter transport patterns, reduce costs, and improve traffic congestion and safety. This would reduce the cost per mile of a vehicle as people will lessen the use of personal vehicles, creating a compelling proposition for the customer.
Charging infrastructure is mainly deployed to meet the needs of personal use vehicles in the traditional model. Business models under this strategy can vary from marketing for selling electric vehicles to public-private partnerships or part of a regulated asset base of electricity network operators. However, limited operability and weak digitisation systems put customer engagement at risk by complicating their experience. A common question raised by the public sector is, can the electric system handle the future growth of electric vehicles? Under the transformation model, as energy systems become cleaner and increasingly digitised, a move to decentralised energy generation can become possible. This will change the charging infrastructure and increase the number of charge stations, making them more profitable. Lastly, as the miles are driven by electric vehicles increases, urban mobility emissions will decrease progressively. Smart charging will create more flexibility in the energy system, and as the cost of batteries will decline, electric vehicles are also poised to become significantly cheaper than combustion engine vehicles. Therefore, moving from a proliferation model to a transformation model can significantly impact the future of sustainable urban mobility. (World Economic Forum, 2018)
Conclusion
Both the proliferation and transformation models of EV adoption positively impact the environment, energy and mobility systems and create value for industries and society. However, moving from the proliferation to the transformation approach will significantly increase the value generated. The future of mobility lies in a more electric, more connected, and more autonomous transport network. Current transport systems are having a negative impact on human health and the environment. Therefore, the transformation of mobility systems by integrating electric vehicles along with a robust energy network that relies on optimised usage of high-use vehicles is key to a sustainable urban mobility future.
Bibliography
EEA. (2016). Electric vehicles: moving towards a sustainable mobility system. Retrieved from European Environment Agency: https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/electric-vehicles-moving-towards-a
(2018). 68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN. Retrieved from United Nations: https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html#:~:text=News-,68%25%20of%20the%20world%20population%20projected%20to%20live%20in,areas%20by%202050%2C%20says%20UN&text=Today%2C%2055%25%20of%20the%20
World Economic Forum. (2018). Electric Vehicles for Smarter cities: The Future of Energy and Mobility.
Research Questions
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What is sustainable mobility?
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Why are electric vehicles becoming the future of sustainable mobility?
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What can policy options be adopted to increase the transformation of urban mobility?
Key Takeaways
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By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live, commute, and work in urban areas.
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As cities will require mobility and energy solutions that are sustainable, affordable, secure, and inclusive, with integrated customer-centric infrastructure and services, mobility is going to change rapidly with the proliferation of electric cars, ride-sharing, and the introduction of autonomous vehicles in urban fleets.
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These changes will coincide with the evolution towards a cleaner, more decentralised and digitalised energy system and services.
-
As the future of mobility will be largely related to the energy sector, a multistakeholder and market-specific approach will be needed.
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By prioritising high-use vehicles to kickstart the revolution in the transport industry, a steady adoption of electric vehicles can be achieved.
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The future of mobility lies in a more electric, more connected, and more autonomous transport network.
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Urban mobility and infrastructure are evolving to incorporate more and more electric vehicles in the transport network.
