Dear Colleagues,

Mobility and accessibility are undeniably central to an individual’s needs for engaging with goods, services and other individuals, as well as opportunity for employment, education and recreation. Supported by rapidly developing technologies, transport systems and behaviours are undergoing a period of intense change (in addition to the impacts of COVID-19) as social practices are reorganised around new possibilities. This profound change requires a suitable governance framework in order to realise both the sustainable and equitable potential (Docherty et al., 2018). This is reflected in evolving attitudes towards mobility, equity and sustainability, recognition of mobility injustice (Mullen and Marsden, 2016) and improved understanding of individual movement through availability of new and emerging data forms (Harrison et al., 2020).

New mobility services and technologies include the move towards both smart and shared mobility, micro-mobility (eg, bicyles, e-bikes, e-scooters) and, more specifically, when looking towards the future, autonomous automobiles. Central to change has been the rapid development of digital network infrastructures (ie “the internet of things”), which, in addition to facilitating new creation of mobility services, are allowing individuals to access detailed real-time information to help plan journies, choose modes and offer seamless ticketing. Such integrated services are known as “Mobility-as-a-Service”, and are said to have the potential to revolutionise the way that individuals move around during their daily lives, thus having significant impact on transportation networks and their externalities.

Yet, there is a large range of uncertainty about the likelihood of these aspirations being realised. Although there has been much focus on the potential benefits, analysis of and response to the risks has been somewhat lacking (Pangbourne et al., 2020, Docherty et al., 2018). However, these services and technologies are largely led by private companies and “start-ups”, with limited government intervention or regulation to make those services contribute rather than hinder efforts to make transport sustainable and inclusive. Although there are examples of (at least partial) success stories, such as Mo-Bike in Beijing, a lack of collaboration has led to some failures in meeting aspirations of sustainable and equitable mobility and, in fact, could hinder meeting such goals.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to gather original articles that investigate and offer solutions to the governance issues that may arise, or have already arisen from the introduction of new mobility services and technologies. In particular, we are interested in those problems that are not yet fully understood, such as the impact on social inclusion, the role of new forms of data or unanticipated consequences for active travel and health. We seek a broad range of case studies, modelling approaches, policy appraisal and theoretical discussions that not only show the likely uptake pathways and potential roles and risks of new mobility services and technologies in a sustainable and equitable transport system, but also what governance structures, business models and policy approaches may be required to support the transition. Moreover, we are interested in receiving submissions from a wide international perspective, enabling the understanding of how such practices may need to differ between regions and places. The content of this Special Issue will add to the growing discourse on transport governance and mobility justice in respect to “smart”or “future” mobility, focusing on critical solutions to previously overlooked risks.

Docherty, I., Marsden, G. and Anable, J. The governance of smart mobility. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2018, 115, 114–125.

Harrison, G., Grant-Muller, S. M. and Hodgson, F. C. New and emerging data forms in transportation planning and policy: Opportunities and challenges for “Track and Trace” data. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2020, 117, 102672.

Mullen, C. and Marsden, G. Mobility justice in low carbon energy transitions. Energy Research & Social Science, 2016, 18, 109–117.

Pangbourne, K., Mladenović, M. N., Stead, D. and Milakis, D. Questioning mobility as a service: Unanticipated implications for society and governance. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2020, 131, 35–49.

Dr. Gillian Harrison
Dr. Kate Pangbourne
Dr. Caroline Mullen
Guest Editors

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• mobility
• transport
• mobility justice
• smart mobility
• transport policy
• governance
• collaborative governance
• mobility-as-a-service
• mobility services
• mobility technologies