The top five best cities in responsible mobility in 2024 are Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia, according to PONS Mobility, a consultancy firm specializing in strategic public and private management in responsible mobility and Meep, a digital platform that integrates and connects different transport services by creating sustainable connected mobility ecosystems.
These organizations have published the first ranking of the top 20 most sustainable and safest cities among the main Spanish cities by population, according to data from the INE.
To distinguish whether a city has responsible mobility, this ranking considers governance, modal shift, electrification, and safe mobility.
The report by Meep and PONS Mobility has analyzed up to thirteen key indicators to generate an accurate assessment of each city in relation to its situation, divided into four subgroups to group the set of indicators obtained: governance of Low Emission Zones (LEZs), electrification of the car fleet, modal shift and safe mobility.
The success of the best-ranked cities has been based on three key pillars identified:
- The coordinated implementation of infrastructures and services, evidenced by the correlation between the density of bike lanes and the use of public transport.
- The efficient use of available aid, with an average execution of 85% of the Recovery Plan funds in the three main categories.
- Digitalization as an integrating element, which has made it possible to reduce waiting times by 24% and increase public transport travel time accuracy to 92%.
Data shows a direct correlation between high scores in this ranking and three fundamental factors: the implementation of low emission zones, transport electrification and the degree of digitalization of mobility services.
These are the main measures that the best-positioned cities have implemented:
- Barcelona has taken risky decisions in the regulatory field. It has the largest area with low emissions, with complete electrification in its public transport fleet and leadership in terms of charging infrastructures.
- L'Hospitalet stands out for having the lowest percentage of vehicles without an environmental label, only 19%, and a public transport network that serves 82% of its population.
- Bilbao has managed to transform its urban core with more than 4 kilometers of pedestrian streets per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest ratio among the cities studied, creating an environment that prioritizes pedestrians and significantly reduces emissions in the city center.
- Madrid has managed to electrify 63% of its public transport fleet, one of the highest percentages in the study and has implemented a digital traffic management system that has reduced waiting times by 24%.
- Valencia leads the modal shift, encouraging citizens to seek more sustainable transport options instead of private vehicles.
Future trends
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The modal shift involves infrastructure.
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Pedestrianization of streets towards the 15-minute city concept.
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Electrification of transport fleets with enough charging points.
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Urban toll and digitalization, as is the case in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Paris, cities where parking is charged or access through an access control system according to its volume.
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Speed reduction in urban traffic.
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Reduction of surface parking: it could be for bicycles and pedestrians.
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Integration of certain means of payment in transport through the implementation of the digital economy. Promotion of sustainable and safe transport.
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More electrification posts, there are already 40,000 charging stations in Madrid.
