Urban Mobility
Readiness Index

Why innovation is essential to advancing urban mobility

Urban mobility is evolving. While cities must provide affordable, sustainable, and efficient mobility, a growing number are also focusing on new technologies — from autonomous vehicles and smart traffic systems to more efficient electric vehicle (EV) chargers — to reach their mobility goals.

Cities included in the 2024 Urban Mobility Readiness Index

These innovative solutions can help cities be more resilient against risks like climate change while making services more affordable and accessible. Robo-taxis, for example, have the potential to lower ride-hailing costs; autonomous trains and buses can make public transit more efficient; and smart EV chargers can save time and energy. Many cities are working with business and academia to advance and adapt these technologies to meet their sustainability goals and reshape their urban mobility landscapes.

Conducted by the Oliver Wyman Forum in partnership with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the 2024 Urban Mobility Readiness Index tries to capture the impact these technologies are having on urban planning and mobility demand. This year’s methodology adds new metrics on innovation, social impact, infrastructure, and system efficiency, in line with the latest urban mobility trends. The cities that top the index are those that consistently invest in infrastructure, increase system efficiency, and embrace innovative technologies.

Cities that consistently invest in urban mobility have been making strides, with San Francisco claiming the top spot

Source: Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California, Berkeley

This year’s index has a new Technology Adoption sub-index, which assesses how prepared a city is to embrace technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles (AVs), and air taxis. In addition, five new cities — Austin, Brasilia, Detroit, Lisbon, and Vienna — were added.

San Francisco, which tops the overall ranking for the second time since 2022, embraces cutting-edge innovation while also improving mobility must-haves, like greater access to public transit. The city is providing $40 million to build affordable housing and other facilities near public transit lines. It also benefits from significant government investment in research and innovative mobility technologies like charging infrastructure and AVs, which will reduce carbon emissions and optimize traffic flows.

San Francisco is also among the first cities to offer robo-taxis, one of the reasons it is ranked first in the Technology Adoption sub-index. Still, the Bay Area must develop public transit and cycling infrastructure density to compete with other leading cities. While there are plans to expand its public transit, San Francisco exemplifies how no city has a completely balanced ecosystem. Sustained investment is vital for every city in our index.

Cities are preparing for self-driving vehicles and air taxis

San Francisco isn’t the only city adopting new technologies. AV services, for example, are available in Beijing and Shanghai, while Austin and Munich recently held autonomous driving tests. In Europe, funding for self-driving startups rose in 2023 by 33%, to $1.6 billion, as the region jockeys to catch up to connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) hubs in the United States and China.

Leading cities are investing in urban air mobility infrastructure. Global events can be catalysts for air taxi investment: For example, several players are planning to have their services available in Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. An air taxi service began commercial operations in Shanghai in August 2024, and other cities around the world, such as Abu Dhabi, New York, and Montreal, have been conducting tests. An Oliver Wyman Forum analysis forecasted growth for the global air taxi market to reach $3.1 billion by 2030, despite regulatory and macroeconomic challenges. Cities that embrace these services can create a local business ecosystem that attracts and builds a customer base. More than 40% of consumers say they would definitely or probably use a robo-taxi, while 39% said the same regarding air taxis, according to a global Oliver Wyman Forum survey completed in June 2024.

Large-scale events help boost public transit

Major events like the World Cup and the Olympics aren’t just opportunities to show off futuristic services. Many host cities boost investment in public transit infrastructure to manage the influx of spectators and tourists.

Paris, which ranked second in this year’s index, completed a $3.9 billion extension of its metro in time for the 2024 Olympic Games. Mexico is expected to invest $2 billion in transportation and urban development in its host cities for the 2026 World Cup, including Mexico City and Monterrey. Elsewhere, Los Angeles is planning a “car-free” 2028 Olympics, empowered in part by a $139 million federal grant for bus-only lanes and mobility hubs for first- and last-mile trips. Large-scale events are increasingly being hosted at regional levels — whether it’s the 2026 World Cup held across Canada, Mexico, and the United States or the 2030 World Cup organized by Spain, Morocco, and Portugal — providing an opportunity to funnel infrastructure investment into broader transportation opportunities, such as improving inter-city connectivity by rail. Overall, these investments will help grow public transit ridership.

Globally, public transit is rebounding post-COVID. Consumers reported a rise in bus, rail, and metro usage by roughly 10 percentage points from April 2023 to June 2024, according to two Oliver Wyman Forum surveys.

Singapore, which tops the 2024 Public Transit sub-index, reportedly reached 93.5% of pre-pandemic ridership levels. The city-state plans to expand its rail network by 223 miles by the early 2030s, which will put 80% of households within a 10-minute walk of a train station and give Singapore a longer total rail length than Tokyo and Hong Kong. Singapore also has a larger suite of autonomous transit in operation than other cities in our index. Indeed, Singapore’s first publicly accessible autonomous bus opened in June 2024.

A key part of boosting public transit ridership is ensuring affordability and effective operating hours. Quito almost doubled its public transit operating hours after commercial service of its metro began in December 2023, allowing the city to climb in the 2024 Public Transit sub-index. It also is important to make public transit affordable, especially as the high cost of living shrinks households’ transportation budgets. Seoul launched a low-cost unlimited public transit pass in 2024, but other cities are raising their fares. High inflation and federal public transit subsidy cuts in Argentina have caused a significant spike in train fares in Buenos Aires, while Mumbai introduced price hikes for its daily and unlimited journey pass in March 2024.

Europe leads in public transit and sustainable mobility, while North America surpasses other regions in technology adoption

Regional and global sub-indices average scores (%)

Source: Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California, Berkeley

Sustainable mobility must include clean energy

Improving and electrifying public transit is a crucial lever for cities to slash carbon emissions. Nairobi, for example, is increasing e-bus adoption. EV sales continue to increase in many places, with cities like Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and San Francisco standing out year over year. Cities should further encourage e-vehicle uptake while powering all mobility modes with low-carbon energy for a holistic sustainability plan.

Yet some European governments have recently rolled back EV incentives, shocking a market that is still maturing. Copenhagen ended free public parking for EVs and hydrogen-powered cars, and the German government in 2023 ended its subsidy initiative for electric vehicle purchases — which accounted for a 16% drop in EV sales in Germany in the first half of 2024, according to one analysis. The government has since agreed to a proposal that would allow companies to deduct part of the value of a new EV from tax considerations.

Offering these financial incentives is crucial for EV uptake: 42% of global consumers say that the price of an EV relative to a hybrid car is a top barrier to making a purchase, according to an Oliver Wyman Forum global survey. Cities should also keep expanding and improving the reliability of charging station infrastructure, as 60% of consumers from the same survey cited charging station availability as the top barrier to purchasing an EV.

Helsinki leads this edition’s Sustainable Mobility sub-index in part due to comprehensive benefits made available for EV shoppers, such as several tax exemptions, subsidies for building charging stations, and a 50% parking discount. But the city’s sustainable mobility initiatives go beyond EV sales. It boasts a complex multimodal infrastructure, offering commuters dense cycling and rail infrastructure and several car-free zones. Finland’s plan to produce almost emissions-free electricity will make these solutions all the more effective in reducing its carbon footprint.

Finland’s energy sourcing plan should inspire all nations that rely on carbon-heavy energy to do the same. Even cities that offer the most holistic, electric, and multimodal mobility ecosystems will not likely meet their Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius without low-carbon energy sourcing, according to an Oliver Wyman Forum analysis.

Indeed, many cities are decarbonizing their energy grids: Oslo aims to be the world’s first emissions-free city by 2030, Paris’ public transit authority aims to have 70% of its buses run on biomethane by 2030, and Vancouver’s and Montreal’s electricity grids are heavily fueled by hydropower.

Inclusive mobility can boost urban vitality

Inclusive, safe, and accessible transport provides a boon for urban livability as a larger pool of residents can travel to work and school. Safety and accessibility are often top of mind for inhabitants when considering transport — roughly half of respondents cited these as the top factors when selecting a transportation mode in an Oliver Wyman Forum global survey. Middle Eastern and select Asian cities generally do very well on safety indicators, aided by strict legal codes, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai ranking highest in this year’s index for the enforcement of transport safety. Most cities also have some form of disability access, and many have plans to increase accessibility further.

Improving safety and inclusivity can also assist emissions goals by encouraging more commuters to take micromobility or public transit modes. Consider Lagos, which announced plans in 2024 to establish a transport police force to safeguard public transport riders, facilities, and infrastructure. In the US, the Biden administration announced $343 million to upgrade transit stations with elevators so that disabled commuters can more easily use subway and rail systems, while Milan plans to build cycling infrastructure that will connect 40 schools for the purpose of giving children a safer route.

The urban mobility ecosystem is complex, presenting cities with sustainability and accessibility challenges that threaten livelihoods and the climate. Those that consistently invest across all facets of transportation and embrace new, tech-driven solutions can remain competitive as hubs for living and working.