On October 23rd, 2019, the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative launched the Global Mobility Report.
Key Findings of the Report
The report highlighted that not even a single country either developed or developing is on track to achieve sustainability in the transportation sector and attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mandated by the United Nations.
Developed countries outperformed developing countrieson all mobility policy goals, except per capita transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.
The gap is more striking on safety and air pollution, placing a higher burden on developing countries compared with the developed countries.
Other indicators also showed wide disparities between developed and developing countries.
With growing urbanisation, increasing world trade and new technologies, the global mobility system is stressed.
More than one billion people or one-third of the global rural population, lack access to all-weather roads and transport services.
Universal Access
In rural areas, where the vast majority of poor people live, limited connectivity is a critical constraint.
In urban areas the growth in population is far outstripping the growth in public transport, thus limiting access to economic and social opportunities.
Women’s mobility is of concern in both rural and urban areas and there is evidence that security issues constrain women’s mobility.
The report suggests that urban transport systems and services need to be upgraded or planned from scratch in an integrated way, which ensures the balanced access of urban residents regardless of income, mode of travel, gender, or disability status. Also, the urban mobility should foster and enable cities to flourish, without creating over-dependence on any particular mode of travel.
Efficiency
The transport sector is less ready to embrace digitalization than other sectors globally.
Institutional and regulatory barriers—especially in land-locked developing countries and their transit neighbors—continue to prevent reduction in transport costs.
Safety
Road transport claims the bulk of transport related fatalities worldwide: it accounts for 97 percent of the deaths and 93 percent of the costs.
On roads, the fatality risk for motorcyclists is 20 times higher than for car occupants, followed by cycling and walking, with 7 to 9 times higher risk than car travel, respectively.
Bus occupants are 10 times safer than car occupants, whereas rail and air are the safest transport modes.
