Tomorrow’s Mobility

Sustainable Technologies for the automotive sector

Week 4 – Session 6 – New Forms of Mobility - Part 1

Rémy Le Boennec

Introduction

I- The need for mobility

II- Trends in mobility
III- Concepts of mobility from a social point of view

Conclusion

© IFPEN / IFP School 2018

Introduction
In this lesson, as well as in the following one, the new forms of mobility, that is to say, all the
different means there are to get from Point A to Point B, will be discussed.

When talking about mobility, people are often thinking about their personal car only. Well, there
are actually many other transportation modes that could bring people from Point A to Point B. How
this works will now be explained.

I- The need for mobility

Mobility is a need that results from the fact that people have a place where they live, a place where
they work, and social habits. They need to go from their home to their workplace or to a social
gathering.
When choosing a living place, various factors are considered, some are options, but some are
constraints. For instance, when deciding where to live, people decide if they prefer individual
housing, an apartment, if it’s in the city or the suburban areas, close to nature, etc…, but they also
look at affordable land prices within urban cores.
The mobility needs evolve over time.
Regarding the workplace, the working habits of the individuals have a big impact on the mobility
needs. These habits have been evolving lately, like in the case of highly-skilled job positions that are
compatible with telecommuting, and with flexibility in working schedules.
Today the e-commerce is still growing. With online sales that have increased by 16% in 2017, there
is no need to move anymore to buy something, which reduces the need for a personal car.
Why do we need to travel?

Mobility needs evolve over time

A place where we live Workplace

A place where we work

flexibility in
telecommuting working schedules
individual housing or apartment ?
Social habits In the city or the suburban areas ? E-commerce
close to nature ?
Etc.
+ 16% in 2017

At the same time, even if a part of mobility is avoided thanks to e-business and telecommuting,
emerging cheaper means of mobility allows users to travel more.
As an example when the ban on interurban buses was lifted in France, the mobility was increased
by 17%. This means that without this cheap option, 17% of travelers would not have traveled.

Week 4 – Session 6 – New Forms of Mobility - Part 1, p. 1

1
© IFPEN / IFP School 2018
II- Trends in mobility
So there is a lot going on regarding mobility.
As seen in the first week, pollution is an important issue for mobility. The environmental constraint
is actually a key point regarding how we practice mobility. Clearly, there is a growing concern about
resources at all levels.
In this context, a dual disruptive trend is occurring in mobility:
 First, there is a disruptive trend in the mobility supply: a smartphone offers infinite
possibilities, some of which have not yet been discovered. Autonomous and connected cars
are a strong symbol of these possibilities.
 Second, new trends appear in mobility uses: it seems like the end of single-occupancy,
privately-owned car is near since it’s associated with pollution and harming the planet.
How do we practice mobility?

Pollution
Key point regarding how we
practice mobility

Disruptive trend New trends

in the mobility appear in
supply mobility uses

It can be said that, in some OCDE countries, and especially for young people, it’s becoming socially
unacceptable to own a car. However, this is only a long-period trend.

III- Concepts of mobility from a social point of view

Like said before, there is a lot going on in mobility, and the context is rapidly evolving.
Governmental policies consider of course the environmental issues. Additionally, the social aspects
of mobility are important for policy-makers and thus for the providers of mobility.
There are two concepts of mobility from a social point of view:
 The term «Inclusive mobility» is used to describe the mobility for everyone regardless of the
age, physical abilities, gender or income level of travelers. Inclusive mobility is now part of
the new mobility patterns promoted by governments.
 The other term, « Universal mobility », is the mobility that provides realistic alternatives to
personal cars EVERYWHERE, i.e. in every territory, from highly-populated to rural areas.
The new trends in mobility try to satisfy the need for mobility that we all naturally have, taking into
account the environmental and social issues at an acceptable price.

Week 4 – Session 6 – New Forms of Mobility - Part 1, p. 2

2
© IFPEN / IFP School 2018
 How do we practice mobility?

Two concepts

1. Inclusive mobility
mobility for everyone regardless of the age,
physical abilities, gender or income level of
travelers.

2. Universal mobility
mobility that provides realistic alternatives
to personal cars EVERYWHERE

Inclusive mobility is now part

of the new mobility patterns

It is our opinion that the best adapted solution to this mobility equation is what we call « Mobility
as a Service or MaaS ». In « Mobility as a Service (MaaS) », mobility is defined as a way to get from
point A to point B regardless of the mode of transport used, public or private. It is a concept that
has been growing fast in this evolving context of mobility.
The big challenge of Mobility as a Service is to make all these new forms of mobility widely adopted
by the consumers. The challenge is linked of course to the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
and hyper connectivity.
MaaS
Mobility as a Service

All these new services are, at the beginning, only used by early adopters. An early adopter is « an
early customer of a given company, product or technology ». So, he is ahead of the majority of
consumers for a specific good or service.
« Early adopters » express a disruptive travel demand that is made possible through mobile apps. It
is the case of real-time carpooling, for example.
In such a context, historical actors of mobility, like the automakers, are now adapting their business
models from an exclusive production of cars towards innovative mobility services.
Just to name a few, PSA has launched FreeToMove and Volkswagen MOIA. All traditional car maker
are now offering some kind of mobility service and this is all new.

Week 4 – Session 6 – New Forms of Mobility - Part 1, p. 3

3
© IFPEN / IFP School 2018
 How do we practice mobility?

Early adopters

An early customer of a given company,

product or technology

So, it seems like we are currently moving from the individually-owned transport mode to the
mobility as a service transport mode.

Conclusion
To conclude this first lesson on new forms of mobility, the following points are important:
 Mobility is a need that results from the fact that we live in a place, we work and we have
social gatherings to attend.
 The mobility context is rapidly evolving with disruptive trends in mobility supply and forms
of mobility.
 The mobility equation takes into account our needs for mobility, the environmental
constraints and the social issues. Governments are adapting their policies to encourage a
global solution, like in the case of inclusive mobility.
 Finally, Mobility as a service seems to be the best adapted way to tackle all the issues at
stake.

Week 4 – Session 6 – New Forms of Mobility - Part 1, p. 4

4
© IFPEN / IFP School 2018