Overcoming Transport Poverty in the Era of Green Transition: A Mixed Methods Approach

Transport poverty, which broadly refers to the inability of individuals or households to access necessary services or opportunities due to inadequate or unaffordable transportation options, as well as mobility justice are crucial issues in the context of the European Green Deal. To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the EU will have to reduce the emissions associated with transportation, which means promoting more sustainable and low-carbon transportation options. This could spur mobility inequality, as well as transport poverty. While transport poverty has been recognized as a glaring issue by the European Parliament, research on this topic remains limited and non-sufficient. To address the limitations of current transport poverty literature, this project aims to combine research on transport poverty from both the micro, as well as the macro perspective, which will allow for a more holistic understanding of the issue. On the micro level, the project will first provide a definition of transport poverty. Because there is no unified definition, there is also no unified measurement methodology, which hinders multi-country comparisons. This proposal aims to fill this research gap by providing a standardized definition and measurement strategy by combining bibliometric techniques, as well as a case study approach. Second, while the causes and consequences of transport poverty have been explored in the literature, hidden transport poverty remains unexplored. By using a field method approach, this project will contribute to a better understanding of vulnerable groups and the factors affecting hidden transport poverty, hence deepening the understanding of the transport poverty problem. Third, the project will explore the issue of forced car ownership. Understanding forced car ownership will enable a proper understanding of a highly relevant aspect of transport poverty. Finally, transport poverty is a multidisciplinary issue, especially in the context of the green transition. A legislation framework that allows for a just transition that mitigates transport poverty is critical, although policymakers often neglect this issue. This project will address this research gap by further exploring the role of the justice system in ensuring a mobility just transition. For the green transition to be successful, the EU will have to adopt several reforms that contribute to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal. The benefits and costs of these reforms are likely to be unevenly distributed across individuals and households. This poses a risk for increased transport poverty, even more so in the light of the fact that transport represent around 25% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions. Literature on the effects of green reforms remains scarce in the context of transport poverty, especially from a macro perspective. To close this research gap, the project will adapt a CGE modelling approach. The development of a multisectoral small market economy (Slovenia) computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for environmental analysis will allow us to analyze the impacts of economic policy decisions, especially when the policy has macro, and sectoral resource allocation repercussions. More specifically, the model will enable us to estimate the potential impact of several policy scenarios, such as for example an increase in carbon tax, on macroeconomic indicators, different sectors, emissions and most importantly, inequality and transport poverty.