Transport policy
E-scooters, bikes, car sharing: Basel shows how shared mobility works
20.10.2023
Basel ranks amongst the Swiss cities with the highest population density – this calls for innovative mobility solutions. It leads the way when it comes to shared mobility, with shortcomings in other areas.
There are cities that have something that others lack: Flair, charm, charisma – the defining Je ne sais quoi. Basel is just such a city. The languages and cultures of Switzerland, France and Germany meet in the tri-border zone. The resulting diversity shapes the city in a unique way.
The region’s also characterised by the vibrant interaction between the three countries and within the city. Accordingly, the canton attaches great importance to the issue of mobility: “Particularly in densely populated cities, solutions are needed to reduce the space required for mobility,” explains Daniel Hofer, media spokesperson for the Department of Construction and Transport of the Canton of Basel-Stadt.
And because the city’s still growing, the issue remains a hot topic of debate. Thanks to various initiatives, the challenges are being mastered better here than in many other regions in the country. “We’ve managed to mitigate traffic growth through environmentally friendly mobility,” notes Hofer. Basel-Stadt’s a role model, especially in terms of shared mobility.
Ranked top among Swiss cities
In a “Shared Mobility Ranking” by the TCS Mobility Academy and the association CHACOMO Basel ranks first among Swiss cities. The city currently has the highest density of shared mobility schemes, which is mainly down to the dense cycling and e-scooter network. There’s still room for improvement when it comes to car sharing, though. Considering this area in isolation, Basel comes only 18th in the aforementioned city ranking. The top places in terms of density of the car sharing network are Aarau, Lausanne and Zurich.
But Basel wants to change that. There is a lot going on in terms of car sharing: For example, the government has decided to make up to 200 public parking spaces available to car sharing providers. This is one of the reasons why the canton’s commitment to car sharing was recently awarded the first CHACOM Oscar by the end of the year.
Mobility has ambitions for Basel
Mobility’s following the efforts in Basel with great interest. “Basel’s a role model in many respects,” enthuses Magdalena Balogh, Market Development Team Leader at Mobility. “Recent years have seen the canton push ahead with a raft of initiatives and put measures in place to promote shared mobility. We also warmly welcome its latest initiatives in the area of car sharing.” Mobility in Basel already has 148 vehicles (14 percent fully electric) stationed at 57 locations, mostly on private land. The proportion of vehicles stationed on public land is set to increase. Four new locations are already up and running in cooperation with the local authority; more will follow in the coming months. A welcome side effect is the boost being given to electrifying the Mobility fleet: most of the bays becoming available will be equipped with charge points.
Attention is being paid to stationing the vehicles in neighbourhoods where people live. Car sharing providers can submit applications to the canton for the conversion of public parking spaces. “This process is still at an early stage,” says Magdalena Balogh. “We therefore see room for optimisation when it comes to practical implementation.” Mobility also wants to equip the stations provided with more than one vehicle. “In view of the comparatively high capacity utilisation of the vehicles and the charging infrastructure, this makes sense from our point of view.” This is hardly possible at present. “That said, we’re having constructive discussions with the authorities,” says Balogh.
Basel teaming up with Bern and Zurich
Basel is pleased its mobility-oriented efforts are gaining nationwide recognition. At the same time, media spokesperson Daniel Hofer emphasises: “The potential of shared mobility has not yet been fully exploited.” The developments are based on the objectives of the current Basel mobility concept “Basel on the move – climate-friendly approach to your destination”. The strategy was published in January 2023 and shows, among other things, the potential of shared mobility. The motto is “use it, don’t own it”. Using car sharing as an example: “If several people share a car instead of owning their own, one car sharing vehicle can replace up to ten private cars,” says Hofer. “What’s more, shared cars are used more intensively than private cars, which end up parked most of the time. Car sharing reduces the need for parking space in the city in the longer term.” Space freed up as a result can be used, for example, to green the city in the interests of the urban climate.
Looking to the future, Basel is seeking to set up a joint platform with the cities of Bern and Zurich to broker, book and pay for mobility services. The idea is to integrate shared mobility services available at public transport hubs, as well as design schemes for businesses that support sustainable mobility for their employees. As a consequence, it looks like Basel will continue to have that certain something – other Swiss cities would do well to take a close look.
Recent years have seen Basel-Stadt demonstrate its commitment to shared mobility. In 2022, the city offered residents trial Mobility subscriptions to incentivise car sharing. In 2023, the cost of a car-sharing space was reduced to 100 francs a month. In addition, Basel has a liberal attitude towards smaller rental schemes such as those involving e-scooters. “We want to keep the threshold low in terms of promoting vehicle sharing and enabling new forms of mobility,” says Daniel Hofer, media spokesperson for Canton Basel-Stadt’s Department of Construction and Transport. In order to inform the public about the existing offers, the platform Basel on the move created. One of these is the “Mobility Week” campaign that promotes resource-saving, space-saving and climate-friendly ways of getting around the city.