Designing Fair Mobility Budgets – Linking Carbon Reduction with Social Equity

Description

Transport poverty is more and more recognised in European policy - millions face daily barriers to work, education, healthcare, and social connection due to limited mobility options. Tackling this issue is not only an economic and environmental necessity, but also a question of social justice.

The European Commission’s recent Recommendation on Transport Poverty (DG MOVE, 2025) outlines concrete measures to support Member States in addressing these barriers by promoting affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport solutions. This includes improving infrastructure, enhancing public transport services, and fostering integrated mobility schemes.

Moreover, the Social Climate Fund represents a crucial financial instrument designed to mitigate the social impact of the green transition, ensuring vulnerable groups receive adequate support as transport systems evolve. By funding measures such as reduced fares, improved access to services, and innovative mobility solutions, the Fund directly contributes to reducing transport poverty.

At the same time, the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) offers a unique chance to plan inclusively and strategically. SUMPs enable cities and regions to design mobility systems that prioritize equity, accessibility, and sustainability - ensuring no one is left behind in the transition to fairer transport.

At this POLIS Network organised webinar, titled "Inclusive SUMPs – Tackling Transport Poverty with IKOB and Fair Mobility Budgets" we explored how we can move towards a European initiative that ensures sufficient and equitable accessibility for all within the framework of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs). We looked at 2 initiatives:

IKOB (Integrated Perspective on Accessibility): a powerful toolbox already used in over 20 projects, made to assess accessibility on different groups in society, the distribution of accessibility over these groups, visualising the effect of measures on accessibility taking into account the whole Functional Urban Area of a region. Measures on accessibility include mobility measures, differences in spatial planning and price measures and therefore accounts for effects on economic and social values also.
MyFairShare : a JPI Urban Europe project that developed an innovative tool for fair individual mobility budgets, linking carbon reduction goals with equitable access to everyday needs. Tested across six Living Labs, the tool integrates data, models, and sufficiency-based standards to support decision-making at multiple governance levels, helping cities plan mobility policies that are both socially just and climate-compatible.

Period	8 Jul 2025
Event title	Inclusive SUMPs – Tackling Transport Poverty with IKOB and Fair Mobility Budgets
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	International