We sat down with Christian Thomassen Nordic Public Policy Manager, Bolt to find out his predictions for mobility in 2023.

“The coming years will reshape the fabric of cities”

“Over the past 100 years, cities have been dominated by cars, but now we’re entering a new era where an increasing number of people don’t feel like they need to own a private car or even have a driving licence. People also realise that ride-hailing will not replace private cars on its own. There needs to be a whole combination of services, including scooters, e-bikes, ridesharing and carsharing.

Once you combine them, then you have something really compelling as an alternative to private cars. At the same time, there is a big boost from regulation – Paris, Berlin, London and Brussels are all examples of cities introducing new measures designed to nudge people away from private car ownership. For example, limiting the number of cars that can enter the city through speed restrictions, high parking costs, or extra charges for non-electric vehicles. That is pushing even more people to use public transport, walk, and share mobility services.

We think the coming years will reshape the fabric of cities, from how they’re built to what they look like. For everyone living in cities, that’s a great thing and will mean less parking spaces, more space for pedestrians, bikes and shops and less pollution. That’s something we’re really excited about – we are the biggest company in Europe offering all these alternatives to private cars, so we have a significant role to play here to ensure it goes in the right direction.“

Explore more predictions

You can explore more predictions from global thought leaders and visionaries who are shaping the future of mobility, liveable cities and sustainable Transport in our Global Thought Leaders Predictions for Mobility 2023 report.