Source: Tomorrow.City Image source: Steffen Albrecht, Unsplash

Public transport is a key factor in enabling urban mobility while minimising reliance on private cars, with a well-functioning system ensuring that all citizens have access to affordable, reliable and efficient mobility options. Increasingly, integration of traditional public transport models with services such as shared bikes and scooters is essential to achieve that reliable, affordable and efficient goal.

In many cities, the transition between different modes of transport requires different apps, payment systems or membership cards, which presents potential barriers to some users, and complicates what could – and should – be a straightforward commute.

From a user’s point of view, transport options are selected primarily for convenience and quality of service, with less attention paid to sustainability. As a result, for many the private car is a default option, with either a perceived or realistic inconvenience a major factor in users selecting alternative transportation modes.

EIT Urban Mobility, the innovation community for Europe’s urban mobility, argues that cities need to adopt a multimodal approach, with shared mobility and public transport seen as complementary parts of a holistic system, where different transport modes can be easily combined in a single journey.

What is needed to facilitate uptake?

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms are one aspect which can enable this seamlessness, providing users with a single digital interface for planning, booking and paying for trips made across multiple modes. Helsinki became a MaaS pioneer in 2016 with a comprehensive offering through MaaS provider Whim, that included bike-sharing, public transport and taxi services. A report in 2019 found that 73% of Whim subscribers made their trips on public transport, compared to 48% of non-subscribers.

A MaaS system alone cannot ensure a shift towards shared mobility and public transport, however. Complementary policies and activity are also required, such as incentives for sustainable travel, public awareness campaigns, and investment in suitable infrastructure to support shared mobility, cycling and walking.

Pilot project insights

GreenMob was a project supported by EIT Urban Mobility that ran for 13 months from 2024 to 2025, which included the rollout of MaaS platforms with a journey planner covering shared mobility, public transport, walking and cycling. Piloted in the three cities of Cesena, Italy, Viladecans, Spain, and Debrecen, Hungary, it provided real-time information on routes, schedules, fares and CO2 emissions.

In Debrecen, the MaaS platform users saved 62.4 tons of C02, thanks to the platform’s sustainability awareness functionality, listing the varying emissions information about each mode.

In Cesena, users logged over 11 hours of bicycle use in the pilot period, whereas only 22 minutes of car use were logged.

In Viladecans, users logged a substantial 215km and 73 hours of walking activity.

EIT Urban Mobility states that, “By making CO2 emissions visible and comparable while enabling greater visibility into multimodal options, GreenMob not only facilitated modal shift and adoption of more sustainable modes but also raised awareness about the environmental impact of travel choices.”