Mobility for Everyone. How do others do it? What can we learn from their experience?

The right to mobility must be guaranteed for all people, because mobility means social participation. Getting to work, meeting friends, going to a medical appointment, taking children to nursery, visiting a mother in need of care – all of these must be affordable, reliable, climate-friendly and stress-free. Mobility is a class issue. People with middle and low incomes are more heavily burdened by the cost of car ownership and often still have no alternative, since public transport and rail services are frequently poorly developed. People with middle and low incomes also tend to live near roads and in neighbourhoods where car traffic causes high levels of noise and air pollution. They are also more affected by the overheating of our cities due to climate change – another matter of social justice.

This brochure discusses international examples of successful steps toward a socially and ecologically just mobility transition: traffic mitigation measures in Barcelona, implemented with left-wing involvement in government, which have led to greater quality of life; the transformation of Copenhagen into a cycling city, which has been successful but must give greater attention to social justice – a cause championed by the city’s left-wing environmental mayor, Line Barfod Olsen, of the Enhedslisten party. The expansion of public transport and car-free Sundays in Jakarta, which are gradually improving air quality in this megacity. Free public transport in Brazil, introduced under the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) government in Maricá, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and enforced against the resistance of conservative and right-wing forces. This has led to a rise in passenger numbers, more disposable income, higher satisfaction, and better local connectivity, with publicly owned transport operators. Mexico City, where a cycling movement is pressuring policymakers and has already achieved concrete improvements. And last but not least, Vienna, where massive investment in public transport and the €365 annual ticket have made the city more liveable and enable people to travel from A to B stress-free.

Manuela Kropp, former Project Manager, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels

Mobility-for-everyone_ENGPDF file (9,73 MB)