By Ahmed Shaaban www.khaleejtimes.com
While the world population is expected to grow to 8.3 billion by 2030, public transport will remain the backbone of multi-modal mobility services in the future. This was affirmed by a transport expert, who predicted a significant spike in the use of public transport in the region by 2025.
“Day-to-day public shuttle trips are (expected) to reach 290 million by 2050 against 40 million in 2005,” Dr Michael Lichtenegger, managing director, Neue Urbane Mobilitat Wien GmbH, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Mena Transport Congress and Exhibition 2014.
Predicting a “thrilling” urban mobility in the future, Dr Lichtenegger said public transport is the efficient and sustainable solution bearing in mind that investing in future mobility is the real innovation. “There will be critical changes in lifestyles, and these will cause changes in mobility behaviour, and people will be sharing economy, and steering away from individualism.”
Growing world population means that there is a need for 50 per cent more energy, 40 per cent more water, and 35 per cent more food. “Public transport shall then be the main mobility solution for cities worldwide … Collaborative consumption shall be changing the way we live.”
Lichtenegger, who is also the chairman, Marketing & Product Development Commission – Austria, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), said a trend toward ‘de-motorisation’ is developing, mainly among the young generation. More info
