The use of shared mobility services in disadvantaged neighbourhoods

Abstract

Due to the urbanization, it is expected the world’s population will increasingly live in urban areas. Therefore, there is a growing concern about diverse urban problems, such as climate change, emissions, congestion and the quality of life in cities. Hereby, urban mobility systems can be an important factor to solve these problems. Besides, new developments in ICT, the adaptation of smartphones, the increasing availability of data and are changing current mobility systems in cities by creating new possibilities for the application of smart solutions. An example of these new smart solutions is new shared mobility services. New shared mobility services (.e.g. car sharing, ride-hailing and bike-sharing, etc) are technology-based, on-demand and provide alternatives to traditional transport models. These services are seen as an opportunity for more sustainable transport in the city and to address equity in transportation. But without thoughtful planning, there is no guarantee this will happen. Moreover, giving the fact that virtual mobility is growing by the enhancement of ICT and will potentially be a replacement for physical mobility these shared mobility services can bring new equity barriers and opportunities for disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This research will focus on shared mobility services in the context of Rotterdam-South. The area of Rotterdam-South is an urban renewal area, which is struggling with large concentration socio-economic problems. Besides, studies have shown that the inhabitants of Rotterdam-South are the least mobile and suffer from transportation poverty, causing them to come across more barriers to the accessibility of various services and opportunities. Based on the defined problem, the following main research question is formulated for this research: “In what way can public parties use shared mobility services to stimulate urban neighbourhood renewal in Rotterdam-South?”. To answer the main research question it was decided that a qualitative approach would be appropriate. The qualitative method includes the review of literature, interviews with advisors, the municipality and providers of shared mobility service in combination with a case study of the neighbourhood Tarwewijk, which is located in Rotterdam-South. From the results, it can be concluded that by the implementation of shared mobility services in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, public parties can positively affect and stimulate two aspects of urban renewal. These are the social and environmental conditions of a neighbourhood. Although the implementation of shared mobilities can offer opportunities for urban renewal areas, it can also bring several barriers and challenges. So, before implementing shared mobility services to stimulate urban renewal, public parties must consider how to implement policies/strategies. This to ensure that the barriers to using these shared mobilities are eliminated. Hereby, this research has suggested several policies and strategies for public parties.