A meeting between the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean and 16 mobility company CEOs and founders has seen the launch of the EU Future Mobility Taskforce.
Initiated by Bolt and Cabify, the Taskforce is composed of 18 companies across various sectors including shared mobility, EV charging and air mobility.
Its aim is to align the innovations of these companies with EU objectives amidst the backdrop of increasing global competition in the transportation sector.
“Europe has strong potential to become a world leader in mobility innovation,” CEO and Founder of Cabify Juan de Antonio told Zag Daily.
“For years, many established companies have been transforming transport at different levels and our single market facilitates collaboration between companies and countries.”
Yet Juan says there are still challenges to overcome.
“Creating clear regulatory frameworks, tax incentives, or support for financing could be some elements to avoid barriers to competitiveness and promote mechanisms for public-private collaboration.”
The primary goal of the Taskforce is to guide EU policymakers on innovation and startups in the transportation sector for the next legislative mandate. One way of doing so is collating the new solutions introduced by the member companies which aim to meet increased consumer demand and make mobility more affordable, sustainable and connected.
Research from Oliver Wyman published last year predicts that demand for shared mobility will double in the next seven years, creating 600,000 jobs across Europe and taking shared mobility’s total market size to $401 billion.
The Taskforce will firstly create a comprehensive report which brings together the collective insights and recommendations of its members before it is presented to Commissioner Vălean later in Spring.
“Shared mobility services are increasingly important in European city transport networks, supporting economic growth and social development while improving urban areas for citizens,” Bolt’s President Jevgeni Kabanov commented.
“This is a critical time to unlock these benefits across Europe further, and we’re excited to work closer with other operators and the EU Commission to make this happen.
“We hope this initiative will create supportive regulation and ensure Europe remains the world leader in sustainable transport.”
