Mobility is a central aspect of urban life. Since the invention of the car, our pursuit of mobility became increasingly paradoxical. While cars and their associated infrastructure have increased urban mobility, they have also consumed substantial urban spaces, produced congestion, and reduced the ability to move around by other means. Recent innovative mobility options, such as peer-to-peer carpooling and carsharing, and transportation network company services, have the potential to offer a richer set of travel alternatives and counter the externalities, such as congestion, air pollution, and social exclusion, wrought by the car-centric transportation system. On the other hand, they also have the potential to perpetuate automobile-dominated urban spaces with little to no impact on these externalities.
Against this backdrop, Associate Professor Haotian Zhong from the School of Public Administration and Policy has organized a special issue on “Innovative Mobilities” for Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, a leading international journal in transportation studies for which Professor Zhong serves as a guest editor. He co-edited the issue alongside Dr. Peng Chen from the University of South Florida, Dr. Daniel Rodriguez-Roman from the University of Puerto Rico, and Dr. Erick Guerra from the University of Pennsylvania. This special issue aims to deepen the understanding of how innovative mobility solutions are reshaping cities and urban transportation systems. It explores emerging mobility practices, market dynamics, and governance models while prioritizing the needs of disadvantaged groups and proactively addressing future challenges and uncertainties in mobility governance.
The special issue received enthusiastic responses from scholars worldwide. This special issue comprises 14 papers that examine diverse case studies across multiple scales, from individual companies to cities and larger regions. These cases offer a comprehensive view of the ongoing transformation of urban transportation systems and include studies from Denmark, United States, Canada, China, Australia, Germany, and Spain. Three main themes emerged: reshaping automobility through innovative mobilities; new methods for assessing innovative mobilities; and the impacts of these innovations on urban transportation.These contributions provide valuable theoretical insights and practical guidance for understanding and advancing urban transportation system transformations.
Editorial:
Zhong, H., Chen, P., Rodriguez-Roman, D., & Guerra, E. (2025). Innovative mobilities. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 104639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2025.104639
Research Articles in the Special Issue:
Albrecht, T., Keller, R., Rebholz, D., & Röglinger, M. (2024). Fake it till you make it: Synthetic data for emerging carsharing programs. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 127, 104067. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104067
Boarnet, M. G., Shao, Q., & Pilgram, C. A. (2024). Monetary cost, time cost, and mode choice: Transit and ridehailing in California. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 130, 104149. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104149
Caros, N. S., & Zhao, J. (2023). Evaluating the travel impacts of a shared mobility system for remote workers. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 121, 103798. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103798
Chen, C.-F., Fu, C., & Siao, P.-Y. (2023). Exploring electric moped sharing preferences with integrated choice and latent variable approach. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 121, 103837. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103837
Dieter, P., Stumpe, M., Ulmer, M. W., & Schryen, G. (2023). Anticipatory assignment of passengers to meeting points for taxi-ridesharing. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 121, 103832. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103832
Ding, F., Chen, S., & Zhao, Z. (2024). Incorporating walking into ride-hailing: The potential benefits of flexible pick-up and drop-off. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 127, 104064. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104064
Klopfer, A., Frank, L., & Walther, G. (2023). Quantifying emission and cost reduction potentials of Corporate Mobility as a Service. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 125, 103985. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103985
Lindberg, M. R., Christensen, T. H. B., Grindsted, T. S., & Friis, F. (2024). Rethinking automobility in the suburb: Experiences with carsharing in a Danish suburb. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 136, 104444. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104444
Liu, X., Chen, X., Potoglou, D., Tian, M., & Fu, Y. (2023). Travel impedance, the built environment, and customized-bus ridership: A stop-to-stop level analysis. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 122, 103889. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103889
Mortazavi, A., Ghasri, M., & Ray, T. (2024). Integrated Demand Responsive transport in Low-Demand Areas: A case study of Canberra, Australia. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 127, 104036. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.104036
Qiao, S., & Yeh, A. G.-O. (2023). Mobility-on-demand public transport toward spatial justice: Shared mobility or Mobility as a Service. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 123, 103916. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103916
Ren, X., Chow, J. Y. J., & Guan, C. (2024). Mobility service design with equity-aware choice-based decision-support tool: New York case study. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 132, 104255. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104255
Sweet, M., & Scott, D. M. (2024). Changes in emerging mobility tool adoption: A path towards sustainability? Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 127, 104056. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104056
Vega-Gonzalo, M., Gomez, J., Christidis, P., & Manuel Vassallo, J. (2024). The role of shared mobility in reducing perceived private car dependency. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 126, 104023. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.104023
