New mobility: Today's technology and policy landscape

The phrase “new mobility” has come into widespread use to describe the intersection of new technologies with new business models (and some existing ones). New mobility has the potential to revolutionize the transportation of people and goods. Its effects could include improved transportation system efficiency, cleaner air, a better quality of life—or just the opposite, or something in between. Decisions of government regulators at all levels, as they plan for and shape a rapidly changing transportation system, will significantly influence the environmental and societal outcomes.

This scoping paper is a preliminary appraisal of the range of policy concerns involved in ensuring that the new mobility supports and advances the goal of clean transportation. It surveys an extensive literature, and a broad landscape of policies, policy makers, key industry players, and projects. It treats new mobility as a policy area comprehensively but not exhaustively. Its focus is primarily on the U.S. market and on light-duty vehicles, though it does reference developments in other global regions and other parts of the transportation system.

The study of which this paper represents a partial outcome was conducted in 2016 for the purpose of informing an internal strategy discussion. While the paper no longer offers an up-to-the-minute survey, it does provide a sound framework for considering new mobility environmental policy, which may prove useful to other stakeholders.

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