As economic and social activity is progressively recovered after the lockdown, the sustainability of urban mobility is challenged. Here’s how Spain’s capital is handling this dilemma.

This article is written by representatives from Cities’ Group at El Dia Despues, a multi-stakeholder platform incubating collaborative solutions to social challenges. See the full list of authors at the bottom of the article.

As cities start to reopen, they are faced with a difficult dilemma.

People need to use public transport to get to work and restart the economy. But crowded buses and trains are a potential source of contagion.

Balancing these two priorities — protecting citizens and rebooting the economy — can only be tackled through a coordinated effort among local governments, transit authorities, companies, universities, trade unions and civil society organizations. That’s what’s happening right now in Madrid.

Reactivating safe public transit systems is also essential to ensure that the recovery is sustainable, equitable and healthy

Madrid was one of the early hotspots for Covid-19 in Europe, and the pandemic has caused thousands of deaths in the city. To contain the impact on the health system and citizens’ lives, mobility has been restricted. This has, in turn, created an unprecedented situation that has caused huge economic damage and hit public transit, particularly in major cities, where public transport is typically more prevalent than in suburbs or in rural areas. Cities like New York, London or Madrid have seen ridership fall by more than 80%, creating a complicated financial situation in the public transport system.

In addition to being key for the economic recovery, reactivating safe public transit systems is also essential to ensure that the recovery is sustainable, equitable and healthy. If people favour private cars over buses, congestion will quickly clog city streets and pollute the air again. Inequalities would grow, as lower-wage workers are more heavily dependent on public transport and would be among the most vulnerable groups if the risk of virus transmission is not minimized through appropriate and timely measures.

To address these challenges, on May 27, the city and the region of Madrid, with the support of the partnerships incubator El Día Después, launched a collective effort with a goal of creating a more efficient public transport system that is safe to use for all.

Flattening the other curve

To keep the use of public transport constant but safe, cities need to flatten the curve of transit demand during rush hours and increase trips during off-peak hours. Yet, this can only be achieved through a massive coordination effort by a wide range of stakeholders to spread the use of public transport across the day.

Employers need to establish more flexible schedules for workers and combine them with telework arrangements. Organizations can also incentivize the use of public transport, active mobility, and alternative modes rather than car use among their employees. All this will reduce dangerous bottlenecks, provide a much-needed source of income for public transport providers that have been hard hit by the pandemic and contribute to better health by reducing contamination and climate impacts.

To achieve a significant and longer-term shift towards non-motorized modes of transport, these temporary car-free lanes and the promotion of cycling need to become permanent

Inspired by collective mobility efforts such as the one developed by London during the 2012 Olympic games, Madrid has launched a collaborative effort to flatten the transport demand curve. The city has released a letter that encourages organizations to take on a number of commitments, which include: cutting the number of movements by their workers by 30 per cent from pre-lockdown levels, introducing flexible working hours or promoting the use of public transport and biking among their employees. Participating organizations will need to report their measures regularly to track progress.

Universities, associations of local enterprises and green growth companies, the main trade unions and other organizations expressed their readiness to join in a public event at the city hall on May 27. The formal adherence to the commitment by each of the individual organizations is now being processed.

While ambitious, this effort will only address one of the most immediate challenges of Madrid´s urban mobility. Transitioning to a more active and sustainable urban mobility pattern will require additional and bold steps. The city, following the example of cities like Paris and Milan, is also looking for ways to expand pedestrian zones, increase the number of bike lanes and support safe micro-mobility. It is important to move quickly, because the current situation affords a unique but potentially also short window of opportunity for some of these measures, particularly those related to unlocking spaces and creating dedicated infrastructure. To achieve a significant and longer-term shift towards non-motorized modes of transport, these temporary car-free lanes and the promotion of cycling need to become permanent. Technology can also be leveraged to improve the use of mobility mechanisms in a more efficient and safe way with apps, platforms and sharing modes, particularly of electric and cleaner vehicles.

The collaborative effort to flatten the rush hour demand curve in Madrid has shown the power of collaboration among a wide set of stakeholders to tackle a crucial challenge

Finally, there is the need to reduce and disincentive the use of private cars, for example using parking management to stimulate the use of alternative modes of transport, progressively banning the use of the older and most polluting vehicles, investing in green infrastructure for electric vehicles and providing a wide set of solid and well-connected mobility alternatives.

Rush hour for public transport solutions

All these measures are ambitious and not easy to launch immediately, but they have something in common: they need the joint efforts of all the actors involved in urban mobility and require the dedication of resources to establishing and nurturing collaborative frameworks.

The collaborative effort to flatten the rush hour demand curve in Madrid has shown the power of collaboration among a wide set of stakeholders to tackle a crucial challenge. Continuing to exercise this “collaborative muscle” will be key in Madrid´s journey towards a more sustainable, equitable and healthy urban mobility.

Authors

Cities’ Group at El Dia Despues, a multi-stakeholder platform incubating collaborative solutions to social challenges

  • Carolyn Daher, Coordinator, Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, Barcelona Institute for Global Health
  • Fernando Fernández-Monge, Adjunct Professor at IE School of Global and Public Affairs
  • Antonio Lucio, Professor School of Industrial Organization
  • Julio Lumbreras, Mission Board Member, EU Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities
  • Santiago Saura, Council Member of the City of Madrid
  • Esperanza Caro, Director of Sustainability, Seville City Hall
  • Carlos Mataix, Director, Center for Innovation in Technologies for Development, Polytechnic University of Madrid
  • ValentĂ­n Alfaya, Director of Sustainability, Ferrovial

(Picture credit: Unsplash)