Madrid and Barcelona have moved up in the ranking of the 60 large cities that are best prepared to adapt to the new paradigm of urban mobility – thanks to the "soundness" of their transport infrastructures in both cases – and Madrid was noted for its initiatives towards more environmentally friendly mobility.
This is according to the latest edition of the 'Urban Mobility Readiness Index', which the Oliver Wyman Forum compiles annually in association with the University of California, Berkeley, and which sees Madrid climb four places to 20th place in the overall ranking, with Barcelona going up just one place to 24th.
Madrid is one of the 10 European cities with the best score in the sustainable mobility sub-index, which analyses large cities' commitment to net-zero mobility. The Spanish capital is the 10th European city (63 points) in the mobility ranking but is below the European average (64.1).
The study authors highlight the city's affordable range of transport through a multimodal network that includes metro, suburban train and bus services, that bicycles can be taken on public transport and its electric bike-sharing service, BiciMAD.
The report praises the capital's initiatives to improve air quality, such as the 30 km/h maximum speed limit in many streets and low-emission areas, as well as its environmental sticker system for cars and the Madrid 360 Sustainable Mobility Plan, which includes extending the metro network and bus lanes by implementing 60 kilometres of green corridors so that buses can reach speeds similar to those of the metro.
On the less positive side, experts from the Oliver Wyman Forum and Berkeley University point out that while Madrid is installing electric vehicle charging points, deployment is slow-moving and is among the European Union cities with the fewest charging points per capita. Madrid also has limited availability regarding leading universities and laboratories working in mobility and few mobility companies.
Well-connected and affordable public transport network in Barcelona
Barcelona is just behind Madrid (11) in the European ranking, dropping outside the top 10, with a total score of 62.3. The experts highlight that Barcelona has a "well-connected and affordable multimodal public transport network, complemented by a sound rail system".
The city also benefits from a national road network that provides "strong regional connectedness" and a national road safety plan announced this year, which aims to halve traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030 by increasing cycle lanes and reducing speed limits.
As for room for growth, the report's authors point out that, despite having low-emission areas, Barcelona's market share for electric vehicles is still lower than in many other European cities due to the relatively sparse number of charging stations. They also claim that the uptake of cycling in the Catalan city lags behind other European cities.
The index analyses up to 57 metrics grouped into five broad dimensions: social impact, infrastructure, market attractiveness, systems effectiveness and innovation, and identifies which cities are likely to excel in meeting future urban mobility challenges.
San Francisco has overtaken Stockholm this year to lead the overall ranking thanks to its proximity to Silicon Valley companies and a "rich mobility and technology ecosystem", along with incentives to purchase electric vehicles, investments in charging infrastructure and by introducing 'slow' streets to accommodate more micromobility modes, such as cycling and walking. In contrast, Lagos, Nairobi, Manila, Quito and Lima are among the lowest-ranked cities overall.