Ecological fuels and shared transport: Italians' mobility will become increasingly green. Electric cars, clean fuels, bikes: a study captures the picture.
Ecological fuels, electric cars, cycle lanes. And shared transport, e-scooters and multi-modality. The pandemic has left its mark, and over the next ten years more than one in two Italians say they are ready to radically rethink their mobility habits. This is the finding of a BVA-Doxa study for the "Change Lab, Italia 2030" Observatory produced by Groupama Assicurazioni, one of the leading players in the Italian insurance sector; the research focuses on the major trends that will change the lifestyle habits of Italians over the coming decade.
Almost all respondents (89 per cent) expect the adoption of completely ecological fuels, and 82% expect electric cars. Thinking about the cities of the near future, one in two respondents identifies an increase in cycle lanes and a greater presence of public transport as key goals, confirming a growing inclination towards intermodality: rather than relying on a single main mode of transport, people will be able to choose the most suitable one on a case-by-case basis depending on the journey at hand.
Young people are certainly the most inclined to use bikes: 52 per cent would like more cycle lanes and one in three would also like more bike-sharing stations. Expectations regarding the complete disappearance of privately owned cars in favour of shared vehicles alone are, by contrast, lukewarm — a prospect anticipated by fewer than one in four Italians. Among the most appreciated futuristic innovations, the use of self-driving cars stands out, desired by as many as 62 per cent of the sample.
If today, partly due to fear of contagion, a certain reluctance to use shared means of transport persists (currently only three in ten Italians say they use car-sharing services), the trend reverses decisively when looking at the next decade, with a sharp increase in alternative mobility options: 62 per cent say they are ready for shared mobility and 40 per cent to use different modes of transport depending on their travel needs.
Against this backdrop, the "family car" will continue to be an indispensable asset for the vast majority of respondents, who are nonetheless increasingly open to considering diversified solutions — bikes, e-scooters and public transport — for getting around the city. As sociologist and psychiatrist Paolo Crepet explained, Covid-19 "has not undermined the desire for sharing. Italians, resilient as they are, are ready to change their habits. Change is always difficult, but it is inevitable."
From this perspective, the figure relating to the over-55s is striking: 33 per cent of them consider owning a car less indispensable. A clear correlation also emerges between the size of the municipality of residence and the possibility of living without a car: the percentage ranges from 5 per cent for those living in small towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, to 10 per cent for those living in large cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
"The technologies enabling the ecological and digital transition — highlighted Andrea Poggio, head of mobility at Legambiente — will lead us to change our mobility habits. And that is how, in the most advanced large cities, people live without owning a car, getting around instead with an endless variety of vehicles and services: from e-scooters to the metro, from cars to trams, from bikes to electric buses, both public and shared." A trend that is also reflected in respondents' answers regarding parking: for one in three Italians, parking in urban centres should be hidden from view, while 30 per cent go so far as to call for a ban on car traffic to reduce urban smog.