Diagnosing mobility constraints beyond urban areas through data

On 5 February 2026, CARNET attended the session “How can we guarantee mobility beyond urban areas?”, held at the headquarters of the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) and organised by PEMB, Institut Metròpoli, ACM, ATM, ARCA and AMTU. The event brought together multiple stakeholders to share recent evidence on mobility patterns in rural areas and low-density urbanisations across Catalonia.

The presentation of the new Institut Metròpoli study confirmed several structural trends already identified in previous research: a strong dependence on private vehicles, very low public transport usage in rural environments (currently around 2–3%), and higher motorisation rates combined with an ageing vehicle fleet. These patterns translate into longer travel times, limited modal choice and increased mobility vulnerability for specific population groups.

From CARNET’s perspective, the session reinforced a key technical challenge: the need to combine and interpret heterogeneous mobility data sources to properly diagnose these contexts. Mobile phone data is essential to quantify origin–destination flows, travel distances and temporal patterns at scale. However, it must be complemented with mobility surveys and other qualitative sources to capture trip purposes, constraints, and situations where viable transport alternatives are absent, such as areas with no effective public transport supply. Both data types provide different and complementary insights, and only their joint use allows for a robust diagnosis.

This data-centric approach is closely aligned with the objectives of MultiMO (Multi-Sector Data for Mobility), a project in which CARNET is currently involved. MultiMO focuses on “forced mobility” — recurrent, non-optional trips related to work, education or healthcare — as a measurable indicator of territorial inequality. By integrating transport, socioeconomic and geographic data within a shared data space, the project aims to support a more accurate understanding of mobility constraints in rural and underserved areas.

Discussions during the session also pointed to realistic improvement paths, including demand-responsive transport, active mobility and shared mobility solutions, alongside behavioural change, with medium-term ambitions to increase public transport use towards 8–10% in rural settings. In a context where housing dynamics are pushing daily mobility further beyond urban cores, initiatives such as MultiMO illustrate how data spaces can support a more precise technical diagnosis and better-informed decisions on how mobility systems can evolve.