European experts stressed the importance of adapting transport infrastructure and regulations to encourage shared mobility at a round table organised by the Estonian shared mobility company Bolt on Tuesday 7 November.
“Without the public infrastructure, we won’t be able to develop the vehicle so that it can take its place on the road in the way that we would like”, said Eduardo Martín, Chairman of the Spanish Professional Mobility Association (MOVEA).
“The reallocation of space will change the situation and favour micro-mobility”, added Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of the POLIS network. “What will be decisive in moving infrastructure forward is the creation of new public-private partnerships”, she continued. She pointed out that the private sector has intervened in an area where mobility services have traditionally been provided by the public sector. “We need to find ways of capitalising on this”, she said.
According to Ms Vancluysen, regulation will continue to intensify and it is essential to ensure that these innovations live up to their promise and are aligned with policy objectives.
As a result, the panellists discussed the level at which regulation should take place.
Kristian Schmidt, Director of Land Transport at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), pointed out that the responsibility lies with the cities. “We have the urban mobility framework, and the cities covered by this framework are obliged to present sustainable urban mobility plans”, he added.
Invited to follow the round table, Adina Vălean, the European Commissioner for Transport, gave her support to shared mobility offers. “There is innovation and this is something that Europe really needs to support”, she said. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)