Contenido
Summary:
Sustainable mobility seeks transportation solutions that prioritize the environment and society; on the other hand, sustainable transportation implies time optimization, road safety and quality of life. The benefits of sustainable mobility include pollution reduction, economic savings, job creation, less congestion and more green spaces. The transition to sustainable mobility is crucial to address environmental and social problems, thus improving the quality of life in cities.
What is sustainable mobility?
Sustainable mobility refers to a way of transportation for people that seeks to be friendlier to the environment and to society in general.
Sustainability is present in several factors related to mobility, such as time efficiency, road safety and care for the quality of life of society as a whole.
Its application represents the solution to serious problems that have long existed in our modern civilizations, since sustainable mobility brings great benefits in environmental, economic, urban and sanitary terms.
Sustainable mobility already exists and there are more and more advances in this area that expand the possibilities of response to a highly polluting system.
In this sense, cities, with their respective governments and private sectors related to transportation, have the opportunity to introduce changes that have a positive impact on the environment and society.
For example, in Mexico, the use of personal vehicles has increased exponentially in recent years, with one car for every three or four people.
This not only generates more pollution, but also greater congestion in the central city areas, road accidents, public health problems, among others.
In this context, sustainable mobility is presented not only as a favorable alternative, but also as a solution linked to great benefits for society in general.
What are the benefits of sustainable mobility? Here are five of them:
5 benefits of sustainable mobility
Reduction of environmental pollution
This is one of the main reasons for making the transition to sustainable mobility. Currently, emissions produced by fossil fuel-powered transportation are one of the main air pollutants.
Moreover, the current problem is not only in the use of these transports, but also in the means necessary to extract the oil.
When an area with oil is detected, the procedure for its extraction begins with deforestation, often even in protected areas.
The procedure continues with seismic prospecting, a method in which high noise levels are produced by dynamite detonations every 6 meters.
This noise, added to the noise generated by the vehicles that must circulate around the perimeter, causes the animals that live there to escape or change their feeding and reproductive behavior.
For these reasons, the replacement of fossil fuel cars with electric technology is an encouraging possibility.
Electric vehicles are 90% energy efficient, while combustion engine vehicles are only 38%
In addition, the transition to this sustainable mobility alternative can have a positive impact on people’s health, as it implies less environmental and noise pollution.
Environmental pollution is largely due to the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), which have been increasing as our societies grew.
Today, thanks to the awareness of this problem, we are in time to propose alternatives that seek to reduce the impact of our mobility on the environment.
In this line, we at Aleatica have carried out a Mitigation Diagnosis where we identified areas of opportunity for their reduction.
Based on the diagnosis, we designed a Mitigation Strategy for the reduction of GHG emissions of scope 1 and 2 with goals for 2030 and 2050, which is being implemented since 2022.
This shift towards sustainable mobility is being implemented in our company’s 20 business units, located in Latin America and Europe.
It has 3 lines of action:
- The replacement of the vehicle fleet with low-carbon technology.
- The generation and consumption of renewable energy.
- The upgrade of more efficient office equipment.
Cost savings
The use of electric vehicles can bring great benefits to users, as they are cheaper to maintain. This is due to their lower number of components, the greater durability of their brakes and the lower requirements for replacement of filters, lubricants and others.
The shift towards sustainable mobility is not only about vehicles, but also about the infrastructure that facilitates their use on as many roads as possible
In this regard, Aleatica’s project on the A35 Brebemi highway, which connects Milan and Brescia in one of the fastest growing and most industrialized areas of Italy, is worth mentioning.
There, the “Arena del Futuro” was developed, an experimental circuit that can supply power to electric vehicles through a wireless inductive charging system.
These kinds of breakthroughs lay the groundwork for the transition to electric vehicles to become a reality, and one that is more convenient in every way for users.
In this sense, we see how sustainability can go hand in hand with technological advances and efficiency in transportation.
In addition, there are other means of sustainable mobility that are much cheaper than cars with combustion engines. Bicycles and public transport are some of them.
Encouraging the use of public transportation would imply the development of a massive, inclusive, sustainable, efficient and safe transportation network.
In this way, a type of multimodal transport could be promoted, which would make a fare and operational integration of the same, thus allowing a transversal access to this service.
Progressively, those who continue to use private vehicles with fossil fuels will see increases in the price required to use them.
This is because the price of these fuels continues to rise, in addition to the already existing fees for owning and driving a vehicle, such as insurance and parking fees.
New job openings
The economic benefits of the shift towards sustainable mobility do not stop there, as the development of this industry also leads to a growth in the supply of new jobs.
The electric car industry is experiencing exponential growth. For example, in Europe, where the transition to this type of transportation is more advanced, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 new jobs related to the development of this technology will be created by 2030.
The latter cover not only the manufacture of the vehicles themselves, but also the adaptations that will have to be made to all urban and interurban roads.
There are several services and supplies required to sustain this type of mobility, which will open up new job opportunities that today are still at an early stage, in specific areas of the world.
Reduced congestion and greater efficiency
The commitment to sustainable mobility will also contribute to a restructuring of cities, where central areas will be freed from the large volume of vehicles that circulate on a daily basis.
In this way, these spaces will become a different experience for all citizens, without the constant presence of automobiles.
At the same time, this change will help all people to see greater efficiency in their travel times, as well as less noise pollution.
All of this can contribute considerably to a decrease in stress and tension caused by transportation, resulting in a better quality of life.
There are multiple diseases and disorders associated not only with the air pollution produced by vehicles today, but also with various factors related to the use of personal vehicles in cities.
Sustainable mobility brings benefits to the health and quality of life of all people living in cities
More green spaces
Finally, a great benefit linked to the transition to a sustainable mobility model is the reuse of many spaces destined for traffic as we know it today.
If we reduce the number of private vehicles, we can witness a change in the planning of cities, to the benefit of pedestrians and inhabitants in general.
As we well know, both streets and parking spaces are places occupied exclusively by cars and other vehicles.
By encouraging the use of public transportation and bicycles, over time, there will be many spaces that will acquire new functionalities and purposes in cities.
All this will not only improve people’s quality of life, as we have already said, but will also make some areas distributed throughout the city more attractive.
In this way, tourism can be encouraged, which brings economic benefits, as well as favoring the pleasure of those who live in or pass through these neighborhoods.
These are just 5 benefits of sustainable mobility, but as this change makes its way in cities around the world, we will surely discover even more.
To begin to experience them, it is essential to become aware of the importance of this transition and begin to be part of it, to the extent that corresponds to each actor in society.
At Aleatica, we have multiple projects in progress aimed at moving towards sustainable mobility in our different concessions.
Sustainability and safety are two key guidelines for our development of long-term, growth-driving mobility solutions. In this way, we strengthen our commitment as an agile and reliable partner for the communities in which we operate.
