Mobility is a quintessential aspect of social inclusion, as well as a critical determinant of human well-being, particularly for underprivileged and marginalized groups. Transport as the carrier and actuator of mobility, is enshrined as an indispensable service in the European Pillar of Social Rights, enabling citizens to integrate into society and the labour market. Enhanced connectivity and market opening has contributed to linking transport networks, bringing the EU together and stating it more tangible and accessible for travellers as stated in the renewed European Urban Mobility Framework.

Shared mobility has the potential to become an important driver for sustainable mobility. The market for shared mobility services is growing quickly and cities are working towards integrating new shared mobility options with public transportation (PT) under public Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms, to allow single booking and payment. This endeavour still faces limitations (meeting the needs of users, unequal access, lack of tools for public authorities for coordinated mobility management across all modes and public space, systems’ interoperability, regulatory gaps, oversupply or abandoned vehicles, congested sidewalks)7. Other challenges to adoption are owned to shared mobility providers primarily focusing on optimising the use of their own fleets, concentrating provision in profitable central city areas while neglecting outer suburbs or are reluctant to join MaaS schemes, leading to services that are not really adapted to local conditions or are operated in isolation.

In addressing these challenges, GEMINI’s vision is to accelerate the progress towards climate neutrality by reinforcing modal shift through the demonstration and uptake of new shared mobility services, active transport modes, and micromobility and their integration with PT in new generation MaaS services.