What is Mobility Week all about?

Every September, it's now a tradition for some of the streets that populate our cities to suddenly change face... All of a sudden, clusters of festive cyclists, daring roller skaters, speedy longboarders and intrepid scooterists appear on the streets... Sometimes, strange futuristic vehicles, pedal-powered or electrically propelled, parade past under the curious gazes of passers-by. So there's no doubt about it: this is the sign that a new edition of the Mobility week.

Created in 2002 at the initiative of the European Commission, in just a few years the event has become THE major annual event for sustainable mobility. Over the past twenty years, Mobility Week has continued to expand: now, in 2023, it is taking place in almost 3,000 small, medium-sized and large European towns and cities every autumn. For seven days, thousands of events and workshops are organised to raise awareness and change our practices in this area.

The aim is clear: to promote and develop more sustainable modes of travel, safer and better quality for everyone. In particular, we need to promote all the alternatives to the private car, which continues to reign unchallenged on the majority of our journeys. 

The aim of Mobility Week is indeed to remind people that, while it remains very useful in some cases, it is not necessarily the best option in many others, and should therefore be used in moderation. More generally, the event is an opportunity to look at the major challenges facing mobility.

There are many: 

🩺 Health
And yes, mobility is first and foremost a real public health issue. We're not teaching you anything: travelling in an internal combustion car pollutes; and pollution kills. "Numerous studies show a role for air pollution in the loss of life expectancy and mortality, but also in the development of cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases and lung cancer", Santé publique France). Air pollution kills 40,000 people every year in France. The combustion engine is not the only culprit, of course, but it is a major contributor.

Vehicle exhaust gases contain nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide and several heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury. This nasty cocktail, multiplied by the 37.3 million or so internal combustion cars in France (2020 figure), is a veritable health bomb. So the maths is simple: the fewer people who drive an internal combustion car, the better off we'll be. It's up to us to walk, cycle, take the train or the metro!

According to IFOP (2022), 72% of French people feel dependent on their car. However, changing habits and trying to free oneself from this dependence is not so simple. That's the whole point of Mobility Week: to give people a moment each year to ask themselves the right questions about their mobility.

The programme is open to everyone: individuals, local authorities, public institutions, businesses, associations, etc. Individually or collectively, the aim is to explore, experiment and, if all goes well, adopt new habits. Mobility Week thus makes it possible:

- test new equipment. For example by trying out, with the help of a professional, that famous cargo bike that will allow us to pick up the kids from school without having to take the car. Or getting on that scooter for the first time, so useful for short urban journeys.

- to test a new route. The home-work journey is one of the pillars of everyday mobility. During Mobility Week, some companies are encouraging their employees to reinvent their commute. It's an opportunity to swap traffic jams for a new cycle path, or that tram that's been giving us the eye for months without us daring to venture out... Tools exist to help you build the route that suits you best.

- to test a new service. Boosted by digital technology, mobility services are exploding, mainly in cities. There are now many platforms, both public and private. Secure parking for your bike near the station, short- or long-distance car-sharing, long-term bike or electric scooter hire...: Mobility Week is the perfect time for a quick review of the options available near you.