Going to work, getting to a doctor’s appointment, studying, caring for someone or participating in social life. Being able to move determines a large part of our daily activities. But not everyone has the same options to do so.
Coinciding with the European Mobility Week , the Specialist Group on Vulnerabilities and Poverty in Transport, of which Ecoserveis is a member, presents the report Towards the Future State Strategy against Poverty in Transport . The document includes 31 proposals to contribute to the design of the future State Strategy against Poverty in Transport .
The objective is clear: that income, age, gender, place of residence or other personal and territorial circumstances do not become barriers to access sustainable mobility.
When moving becomes a barrier
Transport poverty is not just about the price of a ticket or fuel. It also appears when there are no alternatives to the private vehicle, when public transport is insufficient or when there are physical or digital barriers to access it.
26.3% of the population does not have a useful public transport service. In rural areas, the figure reaches 53.3%.
These inequalities condition access to work, education, healthcare, care and other essential services. Mobility is therefore also a matter of rights.
31 proposals to move from diagnosis to action
The document contains the results of a participatory workshop held in May 2026 at the Pontifical University of Comillas, with 36 specialists from public administration, universities, social and environmental organizations, unions, consumer organizations and the business sector .
31 measures have emerged from this collective work. We highlight four:
1. Plan housing and transport together. Link urban planning with public transport by law so that new residential developments and industrial estates have transport from the outset. It is also proposed to bring essential services closer to peripheral neighborhoods and rural areas.
2. Move towards a social and climate ticket. Expand the Single Pass with discounted or free fares for households in vulnerable situations and integrate the different public transport systems into it.
3. Guarantee minimum mobility. Establish binding standards for frequency, coverage and schedules according to each territory and strengthen alternatives such as on-demand transport in rural and peri-urban areas.
4. Prevent digitalization from generating new exclusions. Maintain face-to-face and telephone service and the physical ticket, and strengthen universal accessibility, especially in municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.
Sustainable mobility must also be fair
Decarbonizing transport is essential, but the transition does not only consist of replacing technologies.
At Ecoserveis we defend an energy transition with a social and territorial perspective . In mobility, this involves asking ourselves not only how we reduce emissions, but also who can travel, under what conditions and with what alternatives .
For the future Strategy to have a real impact, the measures must be accompanied by clear responsibilities, financing and evaluation mechanisms. Among the proposed ways is to allocate resources from the ETS2 and the Social Climate Fund to strengthen public mobility.
The European Mobility Week is a good occasion to remember that truly sustainable mobility must also be accessible, affordable and useful for everyone .