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In the wake of the pandemic, 2020 saw a surge in cycling as people opted massively for active mobility. Thousands of miles of bike lanes popped up almost overnight in cities everywhere. But will these temporary installations become lasting side‑effects of the crisis. In other words, will the bike boom keep rolling when things “return to normal”?
The decline in ridership and loss of revenues due to the coronavirus crisis have dealt a blow to public transport networks. According to transport economist Yves Crozet, this new threat accentuates the need to rethink funding and regulation models for urban and suburban mobility solutions.
The ‘invisible’ have become visible. In 2018, the ‘gilets jaunes’ or ‘yellow‑vest’ movement aired the grievances of many different sectors of society, including citizens of rural communities who highlighted the inequalities they face — starting with transport. However, whilst general awareness has increased, Dominique Dhumeaux, vice president of the association of rural mayors of France (AMRF), says many lessons are still to be learned.
Ecological and technological transition, new usage trends, public health crisis — mobility is being impacted by many changes, and so far their transformative potential is hard to gauge. To better understand what’s at stake today, two historians give us their analysis of developments in their countries: France and the United States. They describe two distinct parallel realities — the urban centre and its outlying areas — and a shared challenge: put an end to private car dependency.
Rapidly emptied of cars when lockdown measures were introduced, cities around the world have experienced the unprecedented phenomenon of a mass return to active transport. Pedestrians took over pavements and even reclaimed roads, as walking became the safest and most popular way for city dwellers to get around during the pandemic.
In light of the Covid crisis, public transport authorities need to develop a new strategy facilitating a modal shift in mobility solutions. According to UITP General Secretary Mohamed Mezghani, this is a prerequisite to the success of Europe’s Green Deal, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all EU countries by 2050.
Have attitudes to mobility changed since the outbreak of the pandemic? Will there be a lasting impact on the relationship between home, work and travel? To find out the answers to these questions and more, Pulse spoke to Nathalie Ortar, a senior researcher in social anthropology with the Transport, Urban Planning and Economics Laboratory (LAET).
