New study released on mobility post-COVID-19

Global management consultancy Arthur D. Little has released the fourth edition of its Future of Mobility study in collaboration with the International Association for Public Transport (UITP).

“The Future of Mobility Post-COVID-19 – Turning the crisis into an opportunity to accelerate towards more sustainable, resilient and human-centric urban mobility systems” engaged with over 70 executives from more than 30 organisations worldwide to shed light on the impact COVID-19 will have on mobility patterns in the medium- to long term. POLIS’ Ivo Cre and Pedro Homem de Gouveia were consulted for this study.

The report also aims to provide strategic responses to enable mobility policymakers and solutions providers to leverage the disruption caused by the crisis and make step changes in the post-COVID-19 world.

Around half of the executives interviewed for the report said their organisation is committed to change but struggling to make it happen. The authors identify the key obstacles as a lack of proven ability to be visionary hindering progress; unclear accountabilities between government and the transport authority; and lack of personal leadership in some cases.

“While it is evident that size and available resources limit the type of actions that can be undertaken, ultimately this is not the determining factor and should not be used as an excuse for lack of action,” the report says.