Clients: City of Rotterdam, City of Norfolk
Date: December 2022
Location(s): Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Norfolk (the UK)
Cities seeking opportunities to implement new shared mobility initiatives are often reluctant to invest the necessary resources into doing so without carrying out a thorough and robust research and analysis programme beforehand. Using the Bax-designed MODE framework, we support cities to understand the impact-investment tradeoffs in mobility and make informed decisions.
Cities can make or break new mobility projects. The lack of reliable data and the existing mixed evidence can make the assessment of wider societal benefits unclear, resulting in reluctance from cities to adopt innovative solutions to high emissions levels in cities. This can stall the adoption of new, zero-emission technology that can enhance city life for citizens.
Approach
We have defined a novel Mobility Decisions Framework (MODE) to provide transport decision-makers with strategic support in the planning, implementation, and assessment of mobility pilots, projects and policies. The MODE framework uses a three-step methodology, accompanying mobility pilots in the planning, implementation, and assessment stages while treating each case as a natural experiment. For the cities of Rotterdam and Norfolk, who wanted to know if shared mobility is worth the investment, the MODE framework was used to undertake an in-depth cost-benefit analysis.
Impact
Cities need to understand the real societal, economical and environmental impact of urban mobility. By running state-of-the-art and holistic evaluation methods, MODE can provide monetary values of the associated effects of all transport modes and provide opportunities for enhanced transport policymaking. The methodology can be adapted to different types of pilots, project phases and types of available data. Unlike most studies, MODE treats every case as a natural experiment, establishing causal impacts and controlling for confounding factors.
In the second round of analysis, evidence is compared with that collected during the first round. This analysis showed further positive results and allowed Norfolk City to profile users of the shared e-scooter service. The framework allowed Norfolk to understand that people between the ages of 18 and 40 were the most likely to adopt the service, while men were 17% more likely. The impact of this information for Norfolk is that the city is able to design strategies to boost the adoption of shared e-scooters, while streamlining processes for those more likely to make use of the service.
In the case of Norfolk, where the city has an objective to reach climate neutrality by 2030, we were able to assess the potential impact of their pilot of shared e-scooters as a transport option. The framework identified that there was potential for 15,000 users, 77 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved per year, and 305 car kilometres avoided.
The final evaluation of the MODE framework allows Cities such as Norfolk to scale up the lessons learned at an intra-pilot level to neighbourhood and city levels. By using predictive models for pilot enrolment and behavioural changes based on population socio-demographics and mobility characteristics, cities can effectively plan strategies for the adoption and roll-out of mobility solutions, greatly contributing to emissions goals and enhancing citizen life.
Cities need to understand the real societal, economical, and environmental impacts of urban mobility. By running state-of-the-art and holistic evaluation methods, MODE can provide monetary values of the associated effects of all transport modes and provide opportunities for enhanced transport policymaking. The methodology can be adapted to different types of pilots, project phases, and types of available data. Unlike most studies, MODE treats every case as a natural experiment, establishing causal impacts and controlling for confounding factors.
– Samuel Rouquette, Mobility Innovation Consultant
