Sustainable Urban Mobility Could smartphone apps master the challenge…?

Abstract: If Europe is to meet its Kyoto commitments and avert further environ- ental damage and climate change, urban car traffic has to decline drastically. Yet, no efforts to master the challenge have succeeded. Planners need new demand side tools to help facilitate more sustaina-ble travel patterns and increase use of public transport. This thesis is a literary contribution to the EU SUNSET and Swedish ISET projects, discussing virtual networking and smartphone apps as potential solu-tions. The issue requires a transdisciplinary approach. I analyse the policy framework of Mobility Management, review urban travel statistics in Europe and Sweden, and consult behavioural theories from psychology, sociology and economy. I also study app technology and the existing market. I find travellers’ budgets to be primarily guided by habits and subjective perception of relative time and convenience, rather than factual time or money. The most important incentives for choosing public transport are; maximised effective time, structural im-provements and convenience to daily chores. From this, I outline app features that could rationalize decisions and simplify non-car based travel in the cities. Primarily by enabling a portable workplace and attract the key car driver group – abitual, middle-aged, working men. I also list empirical surveys that could make my findings more generalizable. I conclude that apps can support sustainable development in urban traffic, especially amongst young, but only if combined with supporting structural and political strategies and imple-mentations – a whole new collaborative mind-set.