MIWA 2026 – Bangkok | Program: Session 4
Session 4: Mobility Innovation: Opportunities, Risks, and Societal Impacts
Mobility innovation brings both opportunities and challenges. This session explores its broader societal impacts, including potential risks, equity concerns, and long-term implications for cities and communities.
Successes, failures, and futures of shared micro-mobility services in Bangkok
Shared micro-mobility (SMM) services have become well known as a promising solution to the sustainability of the urban transport system. SMM refers to a range of light-weight devices or mini-vehicles (e.g., e-scooters, bicycles, and e-bicycles) that operate at speed typically less than 45 kph. The services are provided for users through sharing schemes. Research has identified the roles of micro-mobility in providing flexible, sustainable and affordable modes of transport that can reduce private vehicle dependency for short-distance travel. While there are positive prospects for SMM services to the urban transport system in enhancing accessibility and reducing private vehicle dependency, the success of these services is still limited. Only a handful of cities, such as Zurich, Vienna and London have reported some successes of SMM operations and adoptions. SMM services in other cities, such as Bangkok, have not been successful. The attempts to launch several SMSS initiatives in the past decade have not been fruitful; SMM schemes in Bangkok, such as Ofo, Mo bike (shared bicycle), Neuron and Beam mobility (shared electric scooter) drew much attention at the time of their launches but have since ceased their operations. This study aims to examine the underlying reasons and factors that prohibited SMM services from being successful in Bangkok using a participatory group model building (GMB) approach. A total of 33 stakeholders such as SMM service providers, government agencies, researchers, and SMM users participated in a series of interviews and workshops. Success factors and barriers were identified during the workshops. Policies and measures to support the SMM services in Bangkok were also discussed and proposed in this study.
Saroch Boonsiripant
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Kasetsart University
Local Mobility Innovations in Costa Rica’s Capital City: The Role of Popular Transport when Public Transportation Alternatives are Abundant and Scarce
In a socio-economically diverse district of San José, Costa Rica’s capital city, popular transportation emerged, despite the abundance of public transportation modes. This situation contrasts with what many other districts in the country are experiencing: the disappearance of public bus routes. This presentation addresses the role played by popular transportation to satisfy the needs of mobility of the people in a context where it acts outside the law.
* This presentation will be delivered remotely.
Ariana Salas Castillo
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia Climate School
Next-Gen Scholar of the Partnership for Research on Informal and Shared Mobility
Mobility Innovation beyond Technology: Work, Accountability, and Justice
This talk critically examines dominant narratives that evaluate mobility innovation primarily through efficiency, automation, and scalability. Drawing on cases of platform-mediated and data-driven mobility, it explores how innovation reorganises work, accountability, and justice. The talk argues for socially responsible mobility governance that expands mobility opportunities without shifting risks onto workers, users, and public institutions.
Yosuke Uchiyama
Research Fellow, Transportation Institute
Chulalongkorn University
Moderator: Yosuke Uchiyama, Chulalongkorn University
