Hi mobility, it’s me! What do you have in mind?

Who?  Hi, I’m Franziska, I’m 25 years old and I recently started working in the automotive industry.  Why is my age relevant?  Let’s say, it categorises me into the so-called Generation Y.  Probably we all have heard about that: people born in the 80s and 90s with new perspectives, different priorities and changed views on topics like mobility.  You think – so what?  When I had my job interview, I referred to myself as a fan of mobility, but in the last couple of months I have started to question my attitude.  When I started going to university about 6 years ago, I didn’t have my own car.  I lived in a big city, used public transport, ride-sharing, and my bike, and all of that worked perfectly well.  I even wrote my bachelor thesis about new mobility concepts, and thought this is definitely the future.  The end of car ownership – sharing makes so much sense in so many ways!  And of course, I thought of myself as being one of these young and modern people who can change the world, and who will do a lot of things differently than the generations before, especially when it comes to mobility and car ownership.  Why spend a fortune for a car when you have so many alternatives?

But where am I today?  And can I really manage my life without my own car?  I still live in a city.  I have finished my studies, and I work mainly from home.  Sounds feasible so far.  So, I tried to get further inspired by the great variety the industry has to offer.  The IAA in Munich therefore came just at the right time.  It had been announced in the press as the ‘Festival of Mobility’.  So, it sounded like the perfect place for me, and I was very happy to go there for the first time in my life.  I have to say that I liked the concept of including several means of transport and the idea of bringing mobility into the heart of the city.  Of course, the focus on the exhibition ground was on cars, mainly EVs, but the opportunities for test drives, also with e-bikes or e-scooters, and the stands from subscription providers for example rounded off the concept I would say.  But despite being convinced by the new approach, the big question remains: can I really say ‘no’ to car ownership and keep following my initial attitude as a fan of mobility?  Or, will things just get too difficult in the long run if I don’t have my own car?

Let’s take one step backwards and focus on the means of transport I used for traveling to Munich – the train.  Of course, public transport was not really a part of the motor show and it’s hardly a new and fancy concept, but when someone decides against car ownership, it is an important pillar for getting from A to B.  While sitting in the train on my way to Munich, I was really excited and ready to get inspired.  I enjoyed the two days at the IAA, the insights I learnt and the conversations my colleague and I had with different players from the industry.  So, one would assume that I travelled back home as some form of ‘confirmed fan of mobility’.  But to tell the truth, the inspiration of the alternatives did not even reach my front door.

You want to know what happened?  If I had taken the car, I would have been at home 60 minutes later.  By using public transport with the metro and train, it took me around 2 hours.  And while I was sitting in the train at the central station waiting for departure, I glanced out of the window to the next track, and saw a train departing.  A train going to my destination, at a cheaper price and with more convenient timing. But the app and display boards had not show this connection.  And so I ask myself: dear mobility, is this really the best you can do?