Driving home for the holidays

The winter holiday season is a time when we rely on mobility for many activities; for visiting friends and family, to get to the shops and to help haul things home. But it’s no secret that mobility comes at a high cost to the planet and to people; from greenhouse gas emissions to air pollution, noise pollution, road congestion and control of shared public space.

Today, transport accounts for one fifth of global CO2 emissions, and with demand set to increase with rising incomes, the sector needs every sustainability win it can get. Emerging from a year of radical behaviour change and as we bridge from 2020 into 2021, we consider the direction that mobility could take after the pandemic and moving to a future that is more sustainable.

When planning your trips over the holiday season, small changes can reduce our environmental footprint: only drive when necessary, fill up empty passenger spaces in your car and avoid peak traffic times. But really, to match behaviour with major technological solutions will be what makes travel something to sing about again. These transport innovations are just some of those on our ‘watch-list’ for sustainable mobility this holiday season, in 2021 and beyond.

Battery Electric Vehicles

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which run on electricity rather than petrol or diesel are said to be more efficient than traditional cars and are particularly promising where they can run on electricity produced from renewable energy. Where there is just no other option to taking a car, BEVs appear to be better in terms of pollution than their petrol or diesel counterparts and are becoming increasingly commonplace as they are scaled up and they become less expensive.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) run on (green) hydrogen which is split in a fuel cell within the car, producing (low-carbon) electricity to run the motor. Currently, FCEVs are somewhat less renowned than BEVs but the market is expanding fast - particularly in China, Japan and Korea. Promisingly, FCEVs are long range and as quick to refill as petrol cars but lack of infrastructure to do so remains a significant barrier to their commercial appeal (alongside affordability of the vehicles and of hydrogen which remain expensive).

Shared Mobility

On average cars are inactive for around 23 hours of the day, making them underused and inefficient. Among vehicle innovation in mobility is the arrival of smart sharing systems that use new network technologies to facilitate on-demand access to transport such as cars, e- bicycles and e-scooters. This reduces – in theory –  the need for privately owned vehicles, freeing up increasingly limited urban space from idle vehicles.

Public Transport

Transporting more people with fewer emissions. Railway, metro, buses or trams – public transport is sure to be better for the environment than using a privately owned car and there is opportunity for the sector to electrify, modernise and further reduce emissions. Night trains, for instance, are being revitalised as an option for international travel which is now dominated by low-cost aviation. Expect new night routes across Europe in 2021, including from Vienna to Paris, and from Zurich to Rome.

Walking and Cycling

Always top of the list where sustainability is concerned and, also healthy and affordable. Of course, the suitability of cycling and walking will depend on distance to travel. Neither for instance, are ideal for visiting faraway relatives (although may serve as a good excuse). Electric and cargo bicycles are overcoming some of the mobility challenges of traditional push bicycles and ambitions ignited by COVID-19 around improving infrastructure may make both safer and more convenient too. 

As travel across the world comes close to a stand-still, there is a rare opportunity to rethink mobility, and to build back a system after the pandemic that is better for the planet and that works for a larger number of people too. In the dawn of 2021, we find ourselves at a metaphorical crossroads. Let’s embrace changes in how we travel, choose our journey conscientiously and decide in which direction we want mobility to move.

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