How does the urban world commute? Study finds over half prefer cars

A new study examining the burden of cars in cities has underscored their dependence in urban areas worldwide. Globally, 51.4 per cent of the commutes by urban population are by cars, found the paper. 

The research by Rafael Prieto-Curiel from the Complexity Science Hub, Austria and Juan Pablo Ospina, from EAFIT University, Colombia was published in journal Environment International on March 15, 2024.

The study described how people commute in different parts of the world by modelling the use of modes of transportation in a city, such as cars, public transportation and active mobility (walking and biking).

One of the most difficult challenges to analysing mobility across cities is a lack of reliable data, the paper said. It only looked at the proportion of trips taken by each mode of transportation. 

Other information, such as vehicle kilometres travelled and emissions produced by each mode of transport, is not available for most cities.

In this study, Prieto-Curiel and Ospina gathered data on transport modes in 794 cities across 61 countries, totaling nearly 850 million people.

The researchers used a variety of sources, including the European Platform on Mobility Management, Local Governments for Sustainability, Deloitte City Mobility Index, World Conference on Transport Research and the United States’ Census, among others.

The study included more than 1,000 transport surveys, the majority of which were conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid potential mobility shocks caused by the lockdown.

Of the 794 cities, less than a quarter or 22.4 per cent of the journeys were active mobility, 26.2 per cent were public transport and 51.4 per cent were by cars.

The modal share varied significantly between regions. In US and Canada, 91.9 per cent of their trips were by car, with only 3.5 per cent active mobility and 4.6 per cent public transportation. 

In northern and southern Europe, the majority of cities’ mobility was by car, with only a small number of public transport journeys. 

Cities in western Europe typically had between 35 and 63 per cent of their trips by car, but had much higher levels of active mobility (25 to 50 per cent of their journeys). 

Eastern European cities have much higher levels of public transport than the rest of the continent (between 20 and 50 per cent). 

In eastern Asian cities, public transport was more prevalent, accounting for 46.2 per cent of all journeys, followed by active mobility (35 per cent) and cars (18.8 per cent). 

Although the number of observations in Africa is limited, the study found that approximately one in every six journeys was by car, with the remainder being by active mobility or public transport.

The study also found that city size influences transportation patterns and choices. In small cities outside of US, active mobility and car trips were more common, while public transportation options were limited. However, for large cities, there is a shift towards public transport as the primary mode of transportation.

The use of cars in cities has numerous negative consequences, including pollution, noise, and space consumption. However, identifying factors that reduce car use is a significant challenge, especially across regions.

There are numerous approaches to promoting sustainable modes of transportation. Cities that have successfully transitioned to more sustainable mobility are distinguished by the implementation of strategies that promote active mobility and public transport while making cars less appealing, according to the study.