The transport sector is the greatest consumer of fossil fuels worldwide and is one of the biggest CO2 emitters. In view of the scarcity of fossil energy sources and the challenges of climate change, it seems urgently necessary to create more efficient transport. In doing so, two basic strategies could be followed that should ideally complement each other. On the one hand, a technologically driven development path should be followed, contributing to a potential saving in energy consumption or in the long term to sustainable, regenerative modes of transport. On the other hand, it should be considered how new concepts of use can lead to reductions in the volume of traffic. In order to develop transport and mobility strategies, the aim must be to combine both these strands of research. To develop future, more energy efficient transport technologies and concepts, the mobility needs of people have to become the starting point for considerations – this was too infrequent in the past. When researching present and future climate-oriented mobility for individuals, a change of perspective must therefore be made to follow new directions. The person as a central focus of technical systems should thus be the slogan of transport system research.
Initial research results show that new, climate-oriented transport technologies face both specific mobility demands by the users and ingrained habits of use, and can be occasionally contradictory. As the development of new mobility routines is highly dependent on the evaluation of new solutions to problems, methods of empirical mobility research can show up early potential difficulties and solutions in the use of new technologies and user concepts.
An important building block in future-oriented mobility is electromobility [see also the “National Development Plan of Electromobility by the Federal Government” August 2009]. It offers opportunities to reduce dependence on oil, minimise emissions and to integrate vehicles better in a multimodal transport system. In addition, electromobility and a new mobility culture can help modern city and space planning towards a breakthrough. Electromobility means a change in paradigm for the areas of transport and energy. It is, however, up to us today to set the right course for a future-oriented mobility and to continually tackle and solve ongoing questions and challenges in the development process.
Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Kurt Kutzler,
President of the TU-Berlin
