What is Urban Leisure and how do various public transport users have varying levels of access? Our guest, Shahin Shakibaei, a researcher at Istanbul Technical University, discusses his research into the transgender and gender-diverse experience on public transportation of those living in Istanbul, Turkey. For transgender and gender-diverse people, access to urban leisure can be disrupted by issues of violence, discrimination, and harassment when using public transport. What recommendations are out there to improve the experience of public transport for all users? To learn more about these recommendations and the experiences from the communities he has interviewed, tune in!

How can cycling empower women in Africa? Our special guest on this episode has an answer. Wyson Lungo, CEO, and founder of Onyx was introduced to us through our TUMI Friends network. In 2018, Wyson realized the immense impact a bicycle can make throughout rural and urban communities in Zambia, and started to sell bikes made for heavy loads, long distances, and rougher roads. The women of Zambia typically provide the daily life-sustaining tasks- such as carrying water, food, and firewood long distances to their homes. Prior to Wyson, these tasks would take double the time compared to a trip on a bicycle provided through Onyx. To learn more about the importance of providing bicycles to those living in Zambia, tune in!

The global transport sector is changing – more and more countries are establishing ambitious targets in support of transport electrification. To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement a global transformation must take place – also in regions where the implementation of e-mobility solutions seems more difficult. In Sub-Saharan Africa e.g. challenges arise from unreliable electricity systems, missing availability of capital and high dependency on an informal transport sector. For further insights into the cross-disciplinary challenges associated with transitioning towards net-zero, we had the chance to talk to Dr Katherine Collett about her interesting research work on this topic. Katherine is a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher in the Engineering Department at the University of Oxford with experience in electric vehicle integration both within the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Anuela Ristani is the Deputy Mayor in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. As the city faced rapid urban growth in the last decades the government had to find a way to face the challenges coming along with uncontrolled urbanization. Tirana’s leadership saw a sustainable mobility concept as a solution for using the available space as efficiently as possible and creating a more livable city at the same time. In this episode we talk with Deputy Mayor Anuela Ristani about the challenges Tirana faced and the solutions the government put forward to solve them.

Why is it that the benefits of active mobility have been widely underestimated? In this episode Carly Gilbert-Patrick will bring us closer to an answer. As the Team Leader for “Active Mobility, Digitalisation & Mode Integration” at the UN Environment Programme she is working with countries around the world in support of active mobility. Listen in to learn her views about economic, social and ecological advantages of walking and cycling and what should be done do to accelerate investment in human-powered transport.

In 2018, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett became the unofficial ambassadors for Dutch cities with the publication of their first book “Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality”. In June 2021, they published their second book: “Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives”, telling their very own personal story since their move to Delft, and looking beneath the surface to explore why the model of an equitable and accessible city works so well in the Netherlands. The book emphasizes the benefits that a pedestrian- and cycling-friendly city offers for citizens on a psychological and sociological level.

Public Transport remains the backbone of mobility systems in major cities around the world. And as urbanization continues, the formal and informal public transport services in mega cities grow and change constantly. What is key to utilizing the full potential of public transport and to increase its attractiveness for commuters is information about how and where these services can be accessed - or even where they are currently obstructed. To understand approaches to improve public transport services, we had the chance to talk to Devin de Vries. Devin is the CEO and co-founder of WhereIsMyTransport a mobility technology company that develops products to improve the public transport experience in emerging-market megacities. Join us for the discussion on the role of mobility data and up to the hour mobility monitoring for an improved usability of public transport services.

Electric vehicles are viewed as critical for transport decarbonization. To understand how to best leverage the potentials of a large-scale electrification of the transport sector, we had the chance to talk to Erika Myers. Erika works as Global Senior Manager, Electric Vehicles at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. Join us for the discussion on the role of e-mobility for a sustainable mobility transformation, electrification of bus fleets and her ambition to empower women in the EV industry.

Urban transport is often seen as gender neutral – a road or bus system benefits all equally. But really: it´s not! Women and men have different mobility behaviors, needs and restrictions for using transport. We discuss these disparities together with Ines Kawgan-Kagan, who is managing director of the AEM Institute in Berlin and Sonal Shah from Delhi, founder of the Urban Catalysts. They will give us a better understanding on this topic and how to improve the gender equality in mobility as well as urban spaces.

2020 turned the world upside down. All over the world, mobility activities took place in an astonishing pace and new paths were taken. A few days into the new year, 2021 promises to be no less exciting and transformative for sustainable urban mobility solutions. In this episode, Daniel Moser, Management Head of the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), will take us through the mobility developments of the past year and give us a taste of what to expect of 2021’s mobility activities.