Expert Comment: How can we achieve a just transition to urban electric mobility?

Dr Hannah Budnitz

Whether evidence supports these claims or not, they are common sentiments about the transition to electric mobility. And there is a real danger that the transition – and the policies that aim to support and accelerate it - entrench inequalities: Travel becomes ever cheaper for wealthy homeowners who are incentivised to buy an electric car and have somewhere to charge it from cheap domestic electricity, whilst it becomes ever more expensive for those forced into polluting car dependency by a lack of alternatives.

If we want to see a just transition, policymakers and other stakeholders and decisionmakers need to consider what measures will make electric mobility more accessible, equitable, inclusive, and fair. Easier said than done. Especially when many policymakers have responsibility for different aspects of electric mobility without an overview of what their colleagues are doing.

Compiling policy mixes and then co-evaluating them in this way could enable decision-makers in many cities to better see the gaps and match policies to outcomes – essential building blocks to deliver a more just transition to urban electric mobility.

Dr Hannah Budnitz

As part of the Inclusive Transition to Electric Mobility (ITEM) project led by the University of Oxford, we have been working with policymakers and stakeholders to explore how we can shift the way that urban electric mobility policies are developed, implemented, and delivered. The aim is to not only accelerate the transition, but also make it as inclusive as possible. But to achieve this, decision makers need to break out of ‘modal silos’ (e.g. EVs vs e-scooters) and understand how to both work within the constraints of national level policies and to combine them with local policies to offer a sum of benefits greater than its parts.

Our approach is to invite stakeholders to co-evaluate policy mixes: the sum of all the live policy measures implemented over the years by any level of government that relate to the governance of, in this case, urban electric mobility (including private and commercial EVs, e-bikes, e-scooters and shared electric mobility). Compared to developing a local plan or strategy, which often excludes relevant national policies and includes policies that may never be implemented, a policy mix offers a more comprehensive overview of the governance of a sector for stakeholders to evaluate.

Participants at the ITEM project’s workshop in Bristol.

Distribute funding more flexibly and creatively. For instance, create on- and off-line channels for resident or small business grant applications to be made, and offer support to self-organise grant pooling or use of grants for e-bikes and e-cargo bikes.

Match costs and benefits of different measures more equitably and transparently across social groups and neighbourhoods. For example, targeting bus service and infrastructure improvements, as well as parking restrictions to benefit neighbourhoods that sit on the Clean Air Zone boundaries.

Recognise the needs and varied use of more types or modes of electric mobility. The allocation of road and pavement space could consider how to better accommodate all modes safely – from mopeds to mobility scooters.  

Foster a more holistic outlook around who can participate in the design, distribution, delivery, and data monitoring of urban electric mobility policies. This should include more open and transparent evidence of the impact of policy measures and trial periods – including real-time counters for micro-mobility or air quality monitors, so those moving through the city can come to their own conclusions.

Here in Oxfordshire, councils and communities have implemented many policies to support multiple modes of electric mobility – but have struggled to productively engage with or recognise the diversity of groups seeking a just transition. Compiling policy mixes and then co-evaluating them in this way could enable decision-makers in many cities to better see the gaps and match policies to outcomes – essential building blocks to deliver a more just transition to urban electric mobility.