Singles on the Move

A recent OECD analysis shows that, in single-person households, the probability of not having a private car is 10% higher than for larger families. An older study focused on the behavior of single-person households in Canada, in addition to confirming similar evidence, highlighted a greater propensity of singles towards active mobility and shorter distances traveled. The latter aspect may be linked to greater proximity to the workplace, better access to local public transportation networks and, last but not least, age.

Defining the mobility profiles of singles is complex and does not necessarily lead to the identification of univocal characteristics capable of framing a specific transportation demand. Looking at the evolution of the offer of mobility services and the innovation dynamics underlying them, it is possible to get an idea of ​​the importance that this type of user has within the ecosystem, and the main challenges that this entails, by focusing on two concepts: connectivity and accessibility.

On the one hand, the so-called "personal mobility", which can be divided between transport services (taxi, hired drivers, carpooling, on-call services, etc.) and sharing (bike sharing, scooter, moped and car sharing, etc.). In both cases characterized by digitalization as a founding element, it designs a model of offer that is highly compatible with the mobility needs of younger individuals, residents in urban areas, with good spending capacity and a high propensity for behavioral change. Although there is no profiling according to family size of the approximately 40 million trips that are made through shared mobility in Italy, it is plausible to infer that a significant share satisfies part of the mobility needs of younger singles.

However, there is another side of the phenomenon, numerically more significant, which is linked to the aging of the population. The limitations in terms of accessibility – connected to factors such as age, health, peripherality – for people who live alone constitute a factor of potential social isolation, and traditional forms of mobility, such as public transportation, are not always able to respond adequately. Also in this case, the contribution of innovation, and in particular of digitalization as an enabling factor, is fundamental to define solutions capable of making sustainable mobility more attractive and effective. More flexible options such as Demand Responsive Transit, collective on-demand services organized through route optimization algorithms and multi-channel booking systems, are developing in many peripheral areas of low demand to respond to the needs of citizens, and in particular of the most vulnerable social groups.

For both profiles briefly outlined, as already mentioned, the digitalization of the transport offer plays a role of primary importance to allow the offer of effective services designed around the needs of citizens. It is a necessary but not necessarily sufficient condition for the mobility ecosystem to adapt to the needs of demand and above all to be able to express sustainable, also from an economic point of view, and inclusive services.

If on the one hand, digitalization is able to support the development of increasingly personalized and individual mobility models, even through the sharing of vehicles, on the other hand, two basic elements of an achievable inclusive and efficient mobility system can be glimpsed: the integration between networks and different kinds of services (collective and individual, personal and shared, formal and informal), and social participation (also on a voluntary basis) to make transport options sustainable even in low-density and low-attractiveness areas.

Without forgetting the role that automation will have to play in supporting the development of the first and last miles of mobility services for user, for the completion of networks and the improvement of accessibility for citizens, in particular those who live in conditions of greater isolation.

Household transport choices: New empirical evidence and policy implications for sustainable behaviour, OECD Environment Working Paper No. 246, July 2024 https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/0e8469ed-en 

Young, M. Lachapelle, U. Transportation behaviours of the growing Canadian single-person households. Transport Policy Volume 57, July 2017, Pages 41-50 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.03.022