Study finds Berlin, Auckland and Moscow lead global urban mobility

London (Urban Transport News): Kantar, London based largest global research agency issued its study report on global urban mobility on Tuesday. According to its research analysis study, three cities viz. Berlin and Auckland are the world leaders in global urban mobility. Berlin which is the capital city of Germany tops Kantar’s City Mobility index on account of its cost-effective travel and ease of access to a wide variety of public transport infrastructure and ride-sharing services. Conversely, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, and Nairobi languish at the bottom of the ranking due to limited public infrastructure, which assesses the affordability and availability of transport options. According to the study report, city mobility index scores of the top 10 cities are; Berlin (90.7), Auckland (90.0), Moscow (84.1), New York (82.9), Munich (79.5), Milan (79.0), Montreal (78.5), Warsaw (78.4), London (75.9) and Paris (74.7). To conclude the research study, the Kantar had interviewed more than 20,000 commuters across 31 cities, coupled with in-depth interaction with 53 of the world’s leading mobility experts, which aims to inform urban transport planners and developers across the world, and help shape business strategies for both new and existing players in the urban transport and mobility sector. Kantar also published environmental credentials in its Green Commuter index as per the assessment of the world’s greatest cities. According to the analysis and study report, Asian cities are leading the way in environmentally-friendly commuting with Tokyo taking the top spot, followed by Beijing and Singapore. This is driven by a low proportion of solo drivers and a high proportion of walkers, cyclists, and public transport users. In Europe, London ranks as the most environmentally friendly commuter city because of its extensive rail and underground network. According to the study report, green commuter index scores of the top 10 cities are; Tokyo (84.7), Beijing (78.6), Singapore (73.3), Nairobi (72.3), London (69.6), Copenhagen (68.5), Seoul (68.1), São Paulo (66.4), Amsterdam (65.2) and Moscow (64.6). Other findings from the research study include: Car is still king: Despite growing environmental concerns, commuters still love their cars because of the status symbol, convenience, or often out of necessity. Globally, 39% of urban commuters drive to work alone – more than any other mode of transport. And with public transport eliciting the most negative emotional response of all transport modes, it’s no surprise that people are opting for the ease and comfort of a private vehicle. World’s super-cyclist: Amsterdam and Copenhagen are home to the world’s “super-cyclist” commuters, ranking at no. 1 and no. 2 in Kantar’s Cycle index respectively. Beijing rounds out the top three. World’s biggest walkers: Residents of Tokyo and Manchester are the world’s biggest walkers, with the proportion of commuters choosing to walk to work reaching 18% and 16% respectively. Travel app usage: South East Asia also leads the way in travel app usage. Residents of Mumbai and Jakarta on average use over five apps to navigate in and across their city. On the Chinese mainland, the average number of apps is lower than the rest of the world, since car and bike-sharing providers have already integrated into other more widely used apps such as Baidu, Alipay, and WeChat to make their offerings even more accessible.