Mobility data for a just transition

The Heinrich Böll Foundation cordially invites you to the Launch of our study "Mobility dara for a just transition: The case for multimodal mobility platforms and data-driven transportation planning".

The digitization of the transportation sector has arrived almost everywhere: Routing and ticketing is handled electronically, ride sharing offers new options, and municipalities have an ever-increasing flood of data with which they can shape local mobility planning. Against this backdrop as well as the debate about the German government’s recently announced Mobility Data Act, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has initiated two studies, one in Germany and one in the United States. Together, these studies adopt a transatlantic perspective on mobility data use, examining their role in advancing ecological and social sustainability as well as the necessary regulatory approaches to implement these goals.

The paper by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy develops recommendations for the German context, based on case studies, stakeholder interviews, and a comprehensive literature review, focusing in particular on two application areas: Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), and mobility management and transportation planning. Their findings suggest great potential for a just transition in the mobility sector.

This paper complements parallel research by the Eno Center for Transportation in Washington DC, which identifies potentials and risks of mobility data use in the U.S. context.

Authors of the Wuppertal Institute study will present their research and discuss their findings along with authors of the Washington study and further stakeholders.

After the discussion, you are welcome to join us for a reception with snacks and drinks.

Welcome address: Jan Philipp Albrecht, Co-President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Speakers:

• Thorsten Koska, Co-Head of the Mobility and Transport Policy Research Unit, Wuppertal Institut
• Paul Schneider, Research Fellow, Wuppertal Institut
• Robert Puentes, President and CEO, Eno Center for Transportation
• Christine Wenzel, Director Public Policy for DACH and CEE, TIER mobility
• Stefan Gelbhaar, Memebr of Paliament, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
• Christina Wolking, Research Associate, Technical University of Berlin

Moderation: Alexandra Kapp, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin

The conversation will be held in German/English with simultaneous translation.

Here you can find both studies.

Contact: Deitra Myers, Project Officer EU/North America (myers@boell.de)

English

Thorsten Koska is co-head of the Mobility and Transport Policy Research Unit in the Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Department at the Wuppertal Institute. He studied modern and recent history, political science and sociology at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and at the University of California at Davis (M.A.). After working as a freelance journalist, he joined the Wuppertal Institute in 2007. His work focuses on sustainable transport policy in a multi-level system, transport and climate policy. He accompanies scientific research, the development and evaluation of policy instruments and programs to promote sustainable mobility, and electromobility. In addition to his work at the Wuppertal Institute, he has a lectureship at the University Hagen.

Paul Schneider is a research fellow at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. Since 2021 he is working in the research group Mobility and Transport Policy on projects concerning intermodality (mobility hubs, MaaS-Plattforms) and on-demand-mobility. He studied Economics (B. Sc.) in Cologne and International Area Studies in Halle (Saale) (M. Sc.). Paul was engaged in several student associations (e. g. Netzwerk Plurale Ökonomik) and advocates for an analytical perspective based in the theory of social practices.

Robert Puentes is President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation a non-profit think tank with the mission of improving transportation policy and leadership. Prior to joining Eno, he was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program where he directed the program’s Metropolitan Infrastructure Initiative. He is currently a non-resident senior fellow with Brookings. Before Brookings, Robert was the director of infrastructure programs at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia where he served on the Alumni Advisory Board, and was an affiliated professor with Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute.

Stefan Gelbhaar, born in 1976, grew up in East Berlin, where he still lives today. Gelbhaar is a lawyer and has been a member of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen since 2000. In 2007-2011, he was a member of the Berlin State Executive Committee, serving as State Chairman from 2008. From 2011-2017, he was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives, where he was spokesperson for transport policy (public transport, cycling and walking) as well as media and network policy. From November 2011 to December 2017, Stefan Gelbhaar was also Deputy Chairman of the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives.
Stefan Gelbhaar has been a member of the German Bundestag since September 2017. Up until 2021, he was chairman of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure and spokesman for cycling, as well as transport policy for the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group since 2020. In the 2021 federal election, Gelbhaar won a direct mandate for the electoral district 76 - Pankow. Since 2021, he has been spokesman for transportation policy and a member of the extended parliamentary group executive committee. Since 2021, Gelbhaar has been spokesman for the East Regional Group and the Berlin Regional Group of the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group.

Christine Wenzel is leading the public sector team at TIER Mobility in Germany. With a large international fleet of shared pedal bikes, eBikes, cargobikes and eScooters the Berlin based company works towards more sustainable mobility offerings and intermodality in close cooperation with public transport (5mio Maas rides). Together with like minded allies, She is passionately advocating for fair distribution of public space, better life quality (cities for people), safer cycling infrastructure and for ending private car privileges. Previously, she worked for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SAP as well as at the European Commission and German Ministries.

Christina Wolking is a research associate at the Transportation Seminar of the TU Berlin and a doctoral candidate at the Department of Integrated Transportation Planning. She is currently doing her PhD on the topic of "Multimodal Mobility Platforms for a Public Mobility - Actor-Centered Analysis of Socio-Technical Transformation Processes". The focus is on the question of what challenges arise in the implementation of mobility platforms, especially due to the multitude of different private and public actors that have to cooperate with each other. She completed her bachelor's degree in geography in Münster and master's degree in Frankfurt in environmental management with a specialization in urban and transport planning.