Mobility sphere Interview Decarbonization

How will rural areas adapt to the shift towards carbon-neutral mobility?

Brian Caulfield, Professor in transportation and Head of Department at Trinity College Dublin, Expert to the National Transport Authorithy (Ireland) Rédigé le February 20, 2024

Brian Caufield, Professor and Expert at the National Transport Authority, explains how rural areas will adapt to the transition to decarbonized mobility.

How will rural areas adapt to the transition to low-carbon mobility

It’s a huge challenge for Ireland, because in terms of population density, we’re about half the European average. In cities, 98% of the population can get to shops in less than 15 minutes’ walk. In rural areas, on the other hand, this percentage is only 38%. How can we rapidly decarbonize these regions of Ireland? We have several options:

Public transport system
Electrify private car fleets
Introduce shared vehicle fleets

It’s in this part of Ireland that people travel the longest distances, own the oldest vehicles and therefore produce the most emissions.

How can they meet these short-term challenges?

In the very short term, this would involve the electrification of private cars. The aim is also to introduce the “Connecting Ireland” model, which involves setting up rural bus services. The aim is to install two or three bus services a day in every rural area of the country to connect people. If we have diesel buses on the roads in Ireland, it defeats the purpose if they’re empty. Then we’ll have to see what happens when these services are introduced: will people opt for bus services? Will it make a difference?