Tackling transport poverty: a priority on the road to a just, sustainable and inclusive European mobility

European Mobility Week is a campaign aimed at raising awareness among policymakers and citizens about the benefits for both public health and the environment associated with the use of more sustainable modes of transport. In particular, public transport, cycling and walking.

But what happens to those people who cannot access transportation? At Ecoserveis we have been working and reflecting on this a lot lately, while delving deeper into the concept of “transport poverty”.

And although it is generally conceptualized with indicators of usability, accessibility and affordability of public transport, one of the challenges identified is the lack of a clear and agreed definition of transport poverty .

Intersectionality is a characteristic of transport poverty, as it intersects with other spheres of life. It is important to highlight the interrelationship of transport poverty with climate and energy policies or with energy poverty. In fact, future energy transition policies will be closely linked to transport and, therefore, will affect transport poverty in a very direct way. Also relevant is the special impact that this phenomenon has on women or on citizens who live in rural areas with less access to public transport.

And although, as a concept, transport poverty has already been identified, it is now necessary to obtain more data, carry out a more careful analysis and develop specific indicators that can relate different technical, economic, social and environmental dimensions.

At Ecoserveis we have worked on the problem with different approaches and approaches, promoting specific projects such as the Fair Mobility project, where we worked specifically on how inequalities in mobility affect the most vulnerable groups and territories in the city of Barcelona to promote more sustainable mobility alternatives among them.

Currently, we are also working to contribute to the debate on a future European definition of transport poverty that will allow the design of transport policies that promote a dignified life for all people, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic, demographic or geographical context.

The need to promote more sustainable forms of transport and reduce energy use in transport is evident, but ensuring accessible and inclusive transport for all is also a priority.

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