The Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) initiative launched a global roadmap that aims to support a transition towards equitable, efficient, green and safe mobility. The roadmap aims to help decision makers and practitioners identify gaps and critical steps in improving the sustainability of the transport sector and achieving the SDGs.

The ‘Global Roadmap of Action: Toward Sustainable Mobility’ analyzes the mobility performance of 183 countries, and finds that not a single country is on target to achieving all four sustainable transport goals: universal access; efficiency; safety; and green mobility. Developed countries perform better than developing countries on all mobility policy goals, except on transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest scores on universal access, efficiency and safety. South Asia has the highest air pollution. Europe and Central Asia perform better than average on universal access, gender, efficiency and safety.

The Roadmap proposes an integrated menu of policy actions to achieve systematic transformation of mobility, including a coherent approach to achieve universal access, efficiency, safety and green mobility in the transport sector. The Roadmap presents 182 policy measures across four types of toolboxes: regulatory and institutional toolbox, which features strategies and plans for the transport sector and coordination and cooperation across transport stakeholders; engineering and technology toolbox, which includes the design, provision and maintenance of transport infrastructure and transport services; economics and finance toolbox, which addresses pricing, taxes, subsidies and cost effectiveness; and a communications toolbox, which shares ways to influence behavioral change and promote knowledge management. The report recommends that countries select approximately 30 policy measures from the catalogue and prioritize those measures that have an impact on more than one policy goal. Countries can use an open-access, web-based tool to select action plans based on their country circumstances and mobility performances.

The publication showcases examples of policy measures in action in Ethiopia, Colombia, Sweden, Spain, China, and Europe and Central Asia. Ethiopia, for instance, has a low rural accessibility index; in 2008-2009, more than 91% of rural households traveled a minimum distance of 15 kilometers (km) to reach a health center, and two-thirds of the rural population were located over 5 km from an all-season road, leaving rural communities isolated during the rainy season. To improve rural accessibility, Ethiopia has adopted a number of policy measures, including expanding the all-season road network, establishing approaches to feeder road asset management, applying “innovative solutions financing” for asset creation and conducting impact evaluation studies, which confirm that completed roads have reduced transport costs and trip duration and improved the price farmers obtain for their produce.

Sweden is among the countries that is closest to achieving universal access in urban areas, efficiency, safety and green mobility and is a top performer in many categories. However, Sweden faces challenges related to gender equity and GHG emissions. To improve its performance, Sweden adopted policy measures, such as addressing gender aspects in transport plans, developing data repositories and data collection guidelines and ensuring transport project design includes gender aspects.

SuM4All is an umbrella platform that brings together 55 public and private organizations and companies to transform the future of mobility. The platform aims to play a leading role in the transformation of the global mobility system and to support countries in a transition towards sustainable mobility. SuM4All launched the Global Roadmap for Action on 23 October 2019. [Publication: Global Roadmap of Action: Toward Sustainable Mobility] [SuM4All Press Release] [GRA Webpage] [SuM4All Website]