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Imagined people, behaviour and future mobility: Insights from visions of electric vehicles and car clubs in the United Kingdom

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  • Bergman, Noam
  • Schwanen, Tim
  • Sovacool, Benjamin K.

Abstract

This study focuses on imagined futures of personal mobility in the United Kingdom in the context of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Focusing on two innovations, electric vehicles and car clubs, the study investigates how people, behaviour and mobility are imagined in a range of visioning documents about the future up to 2050, a timeline that is critically important for emission reduction targets. We find that people are imagined primarily as consumers in line with the rational actor paradigm, with many visions focusing on low-carbon vehicles as a sustainability solution. This simple technological substitution vision does not play to the strengths of electric vehicles, and diminishes their transformative potential. There are fewer car club visions; these show less car ownership, but retain high mobility and an economic growth perspective. Our findings support the idea that much future mobility visioning is used to support the status quo, rather than to explore a variety of futures with diverse portrayal of people, behaviour and mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Bergman, Noam & Schwanen, Tim & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2017. "Imagined people, behaviour and future mobility: Insights from visions of electric vehicles and car clubs in the United Kingdom," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 165-173.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:59:y:2017:i:c:p:165-173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.07.016
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    2. Sakari Höysniemi & Arto O. Salonen, 2019. "Towards Carbon-Neutral Mobility in Finland: Mobility and Life Satisfaction in Day-to-Day Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Axsen, Jonn, 2018. "Functional, symbolic and societal frames for automobility: Implications for sustainability transitions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 730-746.
    4. Debbie Hopkins & Tim Schwanen, 2018. "Automated Mobility Transitions: Governing Processes in the UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Kester, Johannes & Heida, Vimke, 2019. "Cars and kids: Childhood perceptions of electric vehicles and sustainable transport in Denmark and the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 182-192.
    6. Zhao, Chunli & Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick & Olafsson, Anton Stahl & Carstensen, Trine Agervig & Fertner, Christian, 2018. "Cycling environmental perception in Beijing – A study of residents' attitudes towards future cycling and car purchasing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 96-106.
    7. Elisabeth M. C. Svennevik, 2021. "Providers and Practices: How Suppliers Shape Car-Sharing Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Nadine Gatzert & Katrin Osterrieder, 2020. "The future of mobility and its impact on the automobile insurance industry," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 23(1), pages 31-51, March.
    9. Helena Sustar & Miloš N. Mladenović & Moshe Givoni, 2020. "The Landscape of Envisioning and Speculative Design Methods for Sustainable Mobility Futures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-24, March.
    10. Atsushi Watabe & Alice Marie Yamabe-Ledoux, 2023. "Low-Carbon Lifestyles beyond Decarbonisation: Toward a More Creative Use of the Carbon Footprinting Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-28, March.
    11. Jack Stilgoe & Tom Cohen, 2021. "Rejecting acceptance: learning from public dialogue on self-driving vehicles [Crowdsourcing Moral Machines]," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 48(6), pages 849-859.
    12. Udit Chawla & Rajesh Mohnot & Varsha Mishra & Harsh Vikram Singh & Ayush Kumar Singh, 2023. "Factors Influencing Customer Preference and Adoption of Electric Vehicles in India: A Journey towards More Sustainable Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, April.
    13. Marsden, Greg & Docherty, Iain & Dowling, Robyn, 2020. "Parking futures: Curbside management in the era of ‘new mobility’ services in British and Australian cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Chris Tennant & Susan Howard & Sally Stares, 2021. "Building the UK vision of a driverless future: A Parliamentary Inquiry case study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Jenn, Alan, 2019. "Emissions Benefits of Electric Vehicles in Uber and Lyft Services," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt15s1h1kn, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    16. Budnitz, Hannah & Meelen, Toon & Schwanen, Tim, 2022. "Residential Neighbourhood Charging of Electric Vehicles: an exploration of user preferences," SocArXiv fsv7n, Center for Open Science.
    17. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Kester, Johannes & Noel, Lance & de Rubens, Gerardo Zarazua, 2019. "Income, political affiliation, urbanism and geography in stated preferences for electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies in Northern Europe," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 214-229.
    18. Nihan Akyelken & David Banister & Moshe Givoni, 2018. "The Sustainability of Shared Mobility in London: The Dilemma for Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-13, February.

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