Sweden
Stockholm
UMR Index Rank
#6
(-3)
Score: 65%
Sustainable Mobility
#5
(=)
Score: 73.0%
Public Transit
#3
(+2)
Score: 70.8%
Technology Adoption
#18
Score: 52.7%
| Population | 2.0 million |
| Surface area (km2) | 847 |
| Population-density (people/km2) | 2,314 |
| GDP per capita ($) | 81,596 |
UMR Index Rank
#6
(-3)
Score: 65%
Sustainable Mobility
#5
(=)
Score: 73.0%
Public Transit
#3
(+2)
Score: 70.8%
Technology Adoption
#18
Score: 52.7%
What Stockholm Does Well In Urban Mobility
Stockholm claims sixth place in this year’s Urban Mobility Readiness Index. The city is a leader in public transit, with an excellent rail network, short distances to public transit stations, and a wide variety of transit modes. Investments by Stockholm in maintaining and improving public transit have positively impacted its utilization, which, although already high, increased between 2023 and 2024.
Stockholm also excels in sustainable mobility. Since 2017 the city has used 100% renewable energy in its public transport system, which carries about 800,000 passengers daily over more than 400 bus lines, ferries, and 100 kilometers (62 miles) of metro, tram, and train lines. Stockholm aims to be net zero by 2030, with plans to create two zero-emission zones by 2026. As part of its sustainability efforts, Stockholm is investing in electrification. Stockholm’s electric vehicle (EV) market share in sales is the second highest of the 70 cities in the index, with its share of EVs beaten only by Oslo. The city plans to have charging stations in all city-owned parking spaces in the inner city by 2028, and to achieve the same in suburban areas by 2030.
Urban Mobility Readiness Index, Sustainable Mobility, Public Transit, and Technology Adoption scores
Source: Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California, Berkeley
Challenges And Opportunities For Stockholm’s Transportation System
Stockholm lags behind many of its European peers in the active mobility modal share, with fewer residents walking and cycling around the city. However, high public transit ridership helps to limit residents’ reliance on cars.
Notwithstanding its overall strong performance in the index, Stockholm performs less well on innovation and technology adoption compared with the leaders. While it demonstrated an autonomous urban ferry in 2024, the city needs to transition from tests and demonstrations to deployment. Stockholm also lacks autonomous technology on other forms of public transport.
Dimensions of the Urban Mobility Readiness Index score
Source: Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California, Berkeley
How Stockholm Can Improve Its Urban Mobility Performance
Stockholm can promote cycling and walking by investing in infrastructure for both modes, including safety features such as concrete barriers between roads, cycle lanes, and walkways. The city also can invest more in bike- sharing, encouraging adoption while improving the strength of the multimodal network. Stockholm plans to implement low-emission zones by 2026, which can further encourage cycling and enhance walkability.
Stockholm has yet to implement fully automated trains in the city’s metro system. Such trains can increase the speed of metro services, permit longer operating hours, and encourage higher ridership levels. While the city is investing in its metro by upgrading trains and purchasing additional ones, including an order for 20 more trains in 2024, none of them are autonomous. If the city were to introduce automated trains to one of its main lines, it could have considerable impact on the efficiency of the metro system.
Urban Mobility Readiness Index relative ranking evolution (2020-2024)
Source: Oliver Wyman Forum and University of California, Berkeley