Developing Sustainable and Flexible Rural–Urban Connectivity through Complementary Mobility Services

Abstract

Transport can play a key role in mitigating climate change, through reducing traffic, emissions and dependency on private vehicles. Transport is also crucial to connect remote areas to central or urban areas. Yet, sustainable and flexible transport is among the greatest challenges for rural areas and rural–urban regions. Innovative transport concepts and approaches are urgently needed to foster sustainable and integrated regional development. This article addresses challenges of sustainability, accessibility, and connectivity through examining complementary systems to existing public transport, including demand-responsive transport and multimodal mobility. We draw upon case studies from the Metropolitan Area of Styria, Ljubljana Urban Region and rural Wales (GUSTmobil, REGIOtim, EURBAN, Bicikelj, Bwcabus, Grass Routes). In-depth analysis through a mixed-methods case study design captures the complexity behind these chosen examples, which form a basis for analysing the effects of services on accessibility for different groups, connectivity to public transport and usability as a “first and last mile” feeder. We further explore the weaknesses of complementary transport systems, including legal, organisational and financial barriers, and offer potential solutions to structure and communicate complementary transport systems to improve access and use. Looking ahead, we use the case studies to anticipate innovative, sustainable “mobility as a service” (MaaS) solutions within and between urban and rural areas and consider how future public policy orientations and arrangements can enable positive change. A main concern of our article and the contribution to scientific literature is through exploring the benefit of well-established multi-level governance arrangements when introducing smaller-scale mobility solutions to improve rural–urban accessibility. It becomes clear that not a one-size-fits-all model but placed-based and tailored approaches lead to successful and sustainable concepts.

In search of sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions for rural areas

“…However, the ways how to integrate different mobility solutions in rural contexts to achieve synergies both from the perspective of service providers and users have not deserved sufficient research attention. The solutions could involve conventional public transport integrated with door-to-door or small-scale mobility solutions [ 10 , 19 , 68 ] or with other types of transport services, such as school, healthcare, or shopping transport [ 34 ]. A thorough spatiotemporal analysis of the needs and interests of various user groups and the (misalignments of) current transport service provision when developing mobility services in rural areas has the potential to reduce the reliance on private cars and related environmental load, achieve greater economic efficiency, and improve access to transport services.…”

“…Also, only two out of fifteen real-life cases identified from grey literature used shared mobility solutions. Shared mobility solutions could decrease car dependency among rural households [ 19 , 64 ]. As substitutes to private cars, the use of shared solutions also signals that people increasingly understand and follow the car-as-a-service model [ 25 , 26 ].…”

“…Accessible and easily understandable information on routing, booking, and ticketing systems is universally important for all user groups (see [ 15 , 19 ]). Saying this, preferences for information channels and formats may vary among users.…”

“…Shared mobility, on the other hand, is part of the concept of the sharing economy and related business models are typically developed through private initiatives. It can denote bike-sharing, car-sharing, car-pooling, or ride-sharing [ 19 , 24 ] and the fees are generally charged per vehicle. While DRT is considered to be the key solution to the contemporary challenges of rural mobility, shared mobility is seen to complement conventional public transport [ 8 ].…”

“…Novel mobility solutions tend to require good access to the internet and skills to use information and communication technology [ 47 ]. However, the quality of mobile phone networks and mobile internet varies greatly in rural areas due to low population density, in contrast with urban regions [ 8 , 19 , 34 ]. This hinders the use of digitally assisted transport services.…”