The role and character of public transport within planetary and social boundaries: thresholds, scenarios, and positive visions

Our way of life today, not least when it comes to transport, puts unsustainable pressure on planetary boundaries, for example through climate change. At the same time, society's resources in terms of transport and the benefits that mobility provides (e.g. access to work, education and community services) are unevenly distributed. There is an imbalance where some groups in society overconsume mobility, which leads to too high a load on planetary boundaries, while other groups have too limited opportunities for mobility, which affects their opportunities to participate in society. Public transport can play a critical role in levelling out these differences and helping to ensure that all groups in society have sufficient opportunities to transport themselves in a way that takes into account the limits of the planet. In the project, we start from the so-called doughnut model, an economic model used to describe how human needs can be met without exceeding the earth's ecological limits. The model has not previously been applied to the transport system to any great extent and the focus on public transport in a specific area (Södertälje municipality) that we apply is unique. In the project, we will develop indicators and threshold values to be able to shed light on the current situation, as well as possible alternatives to achieve a future situation where all social groups in Södertälje can meet their transport needs without this exceeding the planet's boundaries. The project also develops knowledge about how these future scenarios of Södertälje's development, with a focus on public transport, can be sold as a positive vision of the future.