Smart Mobility Fosters New Transportation Options

A new Deloitte report evaluates ways that new technologies and mobility services help reduce the need to own and use private automobiles. Helsinki's audacious goal: By 2025, no city resident will need to own a private car.

1 minute read

May 21, 2015, 5:00 AM PDT

By Todd Litman


The new report Smart Mobility: Reducing Congestion and Fostering Faster, Greener, and Cheaper Transportation Options, by Deloitte University, evaluates new business models inspired by the sharing economy and disruptive technologies that are ushering in the era of "smart mobility." These include on-demand ride services like Uber and Lyft, real-time ridesharing services such as Carma and Zimride, carsharing programs such as Zipcar and car2go, bike sharing programs, and thousands of miles of new urban bike lanes that are changing how people get around. It explores how urban planners can support these technologies and services in order to help reduce congestion, traffic accidents, pollution emissions and parking facility costs.

It describes Helsinki's audacious goal: By 2025, the city plans to make it unnecessary for any city resident to own a private car. The goal is an on-demand mobility system that would allow customers to choose among public and private transport providers and assemble the fastest or cheapest way of getting anywhere they need to go at any time.

The report offers detailed policy recommendations for each mode that can help policymakers and city planners begin to reap the benefits of these alternative modes, with potential savings tables and maps that explore the potential of these strategies to reduce automobile travel in specific neighborhoods.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015 in Smart Mobility

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

High-rise apartment buildings in Waikiki, Hawaii with steep green mountains in background.

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss

The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

April 6, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Blue and white Seattle Link light rail train exiting concrete Downtown Bellevue Tunnel in Bellevue, WA.

Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?

Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.

April 7, 2025 - Todd Litman

Silhouette of man holding on to back of bicycle ridden by woman with Eiffel Tower in background.

Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution

The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.

April 14 - Momentum Magazine

Multifamily housing under construction.

Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas

Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.

April 14 - San Francisco Chronicle

Western coyote looking at camera in grassy field.

San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes

San Diego County experiences a rise in urban coyotes, as sightings become prevalent throughout its urban neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.

April 14 - Fox 5