What is sustainable mobility?

The term sustainable mobility was coined relatively recently: It emerged at the end of the 1990s, at a time when sustainable development became a significant issue that public authorities, civil society and companies were starting to seize on. The concept then gained momentum in the 2000s and is now established as one of the inescapable challenges of transitioning to sustainability. It is also referred to as sustainable transport.

According to the ADEME (the French governmental Sustainability Transformation Agency), sustainable mobility means "ensuring the transport of goods and people while reducing the use of cars where possible, especially in urban and suburban areas."

In practice, it's about rethinking our journeys (modes of transport, infrastructure, frequency, fuel types, etc.) to reduce the negative impacts. The goal is not only environmental, as we seek to positively impact three main areas:the environment, quality of life, and health.

Sustainable mobility applies just as much to people as it does to goods: the logistics sector is evidently concerned, especially given the boom in home delivery in recent years.

The main objective of sustainable mobility is to develop alternative modes of transport to private cars.

The idea is not to remove them from the roads or ban their use but to reduce their share in our journeys overall. Even though they are practical, private cars generate lots of collateral damage for both users and the community: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, cost of use, takes over the roads, noise, destruction of natural areas (to build roads), etc.

Sustainable transport seeks to solve this by promoting a plural formula of options: Instead of a single model, we can move towards multiple means of transport with a lower impact that we can combine or alternate depending on the need for mobility.

For short journeys, it's the most effective and beneficial means of transport on all counts: The environment, quality of life, and health. So, it's true that getting around on foot is often simpler in urban areas than in rural ones and for reasonable distances.

In many French cities, walking is tending to overtake the car as the number one means of every day transport. When pedestrianization is relevant, walking has become popular. Every day in Copenhagen, for example, nearly 50% of inhabitants get around on foot. The pedestrian areas, shared streets and speed tables make towns more pleasant and safer for pedestrians.

Along with walking, the bike is the other means of transport that makes up what we call "active mobility", using our own human energy. Bikes tick all the boxes: it does not pollute, does not emit greenhouse gases or noise, and takes up very little of the road. It is undoubtedly one of the big winners of sustainable mobility. It is now flanked by the electric bike, which is obviously less environmentally friendly but whose impact remains well below that of a car (20 times less CO2 per kilometre, according to the ADEME).

Once again, cycling and its adoption are strongly dependent on the infrastructure. In France, which is lagging behind, less than 5% of inhabitants use it to commute to work or school. In Amsterdam, one of the most cycling-friendly cities in the world, they are close to 40%!
Often quoted as a prime example, Copenhagen has set up a dense network of cycling paths that encourages a great many residents to cycle daily. The city has also invested in public transport and restricted car access to the city centre.
Like Copenhagen, Amsterdam is renowned for its cycling culture.The city has a highly-developed cycling path network and has introduced measures encouraging cyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles to coexist side by side.

Oslo has set itself the goal of being net zero by 2030. The city has put in place financial incentives to buy an electric vehicle and developed a network of fast charging stations.

Implementing suitable infrastructure clearly plays a key part in making people feel safe to take up cycling. Safe, well-marked and well-connected cycle paths unquestionably encourage the daily use of bikes.

Other private means of transport on wheels, whether mechanical or electric, can also be included in the bicycle category: the kick scooter, inline skates, skateboard, self-balancing unicycle, etc. In short, this mode of transport offers a lot of options.

Public transport is a cornerstone of sustainable mobility, pooling together vehicles and energy consumption. There are a variety of solutions on offer depending on the territory and the requirements: bus, trams, metros, tram-trains, Regional train networks, High-Speed trains, coaches, riverboats…
One point is, however, critical: once again, the creation of appropriate infrastructure. Public transport must be able to offer regularly scheduled services, frequently served stops... in short, serving the collective interest.

Well, used differently, it also represents a helpful way of taking action in favour of sustainable transport. But, on two conditions: it needs to be shared much more, and more people need to be on board. We actually estimate that a private car remains unused … 95% of the time; and 9 vehicles out of 10 are driven around with only one passenger on board (the driver). Car sharing and carpooling conversely share the costs (financially, environmentally, in terms of space) and, therefore, decrease the negative impacts of the car. As for the electric version, it
would appear advisable, but there is no complete consensus among scientists. The environmental cost of producing electric cars (and their batteries) remains very high, even if these vehicles do not emit GHG during their use.

And lastly, an ultimate sustainable mobility solution that might spring less to mind: reducing our journeys. Because energy efficiency also applies to our journeys.Working from home is a self-evident example that every day helps to save lots of transport mileage.
Prefer local shops, opting for recreational activities close to home… The idea is to question the reason for these journeys more often.

As we can see, urban planning plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable mobility.Mixed-use neighbourhood planning, where shops, housing and public infrastructure are close to each other, reduces the distances we have to travel and encourages sustainable journeys.

Trading the private car for other forms of transport is not always easy to do

But when possible, it is a highly significant course of action. 

One of the priorities of sustainable mobility is to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated through our journeys to mitigate climate change.

It is absolutely imperative, especially in France, to decarbonise transport, given today, it represents close to 32% of total national GHG emissions. The private car alone accounts for 16% of French GHG emissions… Using them less contributes to combating climate change.

According to the European Environmental Agency (EEA), air pollution causes the premature death of approximately 250,000 people in Europe each year. Among the sources of this pollution are road haulage, an emitter of huge amounts of fine particles matter (PM 2.5), airborne particles (PM10), and nitrogen oxide. Developing sustainable transport is also about making the air cleaner to breathe.

Walking, cycling, kick scooters… Studies show that active mobility (that involves human physical activity) is excellent for health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), active modes of transport help to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by 10% and the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 %. Similarly, those cycling to work or school are less vulnerable to cancer (their mortality rate linked to the disease drops by 30%). Lastly, physical exercise is proven to help mental health and reduce stress.

Sustainable mobility helps to make urban environments calmer, where, after all, 80% of French people live.The reduction of car traffic reduces the level of noise, the risks of accidents,
clogging up roads, traffic jams, etc. The result isa calmer, less congested and stressful environment .

According to the INSEE (French Office of National Statistics) (published in 2021), French households devote approximately 11% of their income to cars. The NGO Greenpeace, for their part, estimates at 6,000 Euros a year the average cost of owning and using a private vehicle (fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc.).
By opting for alternative modes of transport, such as a bike, public transport or car sharing, we considerably save money linked to mobility. In the long term, this could represent substantial savings for households.

Despite sustainable transport making slow progress, it nevertheless has a bright future. Given the climate crisis, transitioning towards modes of transport emitting less GHG is not really optional… It turns out that it's a commitment that European countries, including France, have made: They have decided that net GHG emissions EU-wide will have to decrease by at least 55% by 2030. This goal will be impossible to meet without decarbonising transport.

There is, however, a significant challenge for the future of sustainable mobility: managing to get all citizens on board without creating inequalities. What experts call "sustainable mobility for all", or "inclusive mobility". This is about combining climate and social justice to make low-carbon transport accessible to the entire population. 

Sociologists have identified three groups among the people furthest away from new sustainable transport:the young, low-paid workers and the elderly.
The levers available to public authorities to make inclusive mobility a reality are also well-identified. These include amplifying cycling and pedestrian infrastructure developing public transport, making the public aware of low-carbon modes of transport, financial support (purchasing a bike, for example) and even promoting car clubs and car sharing.