Project description
In the long run, technological changes in the mobility sector has had profound impact on society. The introduction of the private car has radically changed our cities. Aircraft have changed how we interact across continents. These innovations have in common that they, to a large extent, utilize fossil fuels and have a number of negative externalities in addition to their obvious contribution to increased welfare. It is increasingly clear that continued growth along a path of increased consumption of fossil fuels is unsustainable. There is a need for a sustainability transition within the mobility sector.
Looking at the possible driving forces for such a transition in mobility previous studies have identified seven landscape level trends as the most important external factors that had a potential for affecting mobility. Among these, digitalisation and increased environmental awareness were found to have the greatest potential for influencing a radical change in Norway. In part as a result of this identification of key trends, I have chosen to study digitalisation and its connection with sustainability transitions in this thesis. I therefore ask: How can digitalisation contribute to more efficient and sustainable passenger transport in urban agglomerations?
To answer this question, I use a multi-method approach. I combine data, both qualitative and quantitative, from different sources in order utilize strengths of the various types of data. Similarly, I use several analytical frameworks. Each paper focus on a specific technology, while the overall topic theme of the thesis is addressed by looking at these in technologies in combination. The first papers in the thesis focus on ridesourcing and self-driving vehicles, and mobility-as-a-service. Future papers will focus on micromobility and smart charging.
Thesis supervisors
Olav Wicken (TIK, UiO)
Ove Langeland (TØI)
Commentators
Markus Bugge (TIK, UiO)
Tom Erik Julsrud (CICERO)
How to participate
The seminar is open to everyone, and the manuscript is available upon request. Please register for the event by sending an email to i.h.johnsen@tik.uio.no
Welcome!