Gridlocked streets, honking horns, and polluted air—modern city life often feels like a daily battle against time and space. With half the world’s population projected to live in cities by 2050, the pressure on transport systems is reaching a breaking point. Long commutes steal hours from our day, congestion chokes productivity, and outdated infrastructure struggles to keep up.

But what if cities could move smarter? What if technology could transform how we travel, making urban environments cleaner, more efficient, and connected? Across the globe, smart-city mobility initiatives are turning these possibilities into reality. From shared mobility services to on-demand transportation, cities are reimagining how people and goods move, creating a dynamic, responsive transport ecosystem.

At the heart of this transformation lies the powerful synergy between mobility and technology. Here, we’ll explore how smart mobility fuels the smart city revolution—and how adaptive, connected urban transport is reshaping city life as we know it.

Urban mobility today

For decades, urban mobility has relied on two primary modes: individual cars and public transportation. Although cars transformed city life, offering freedom and convenience, rising urban populations have led to unprecedented congestion. Now, gridlocked streets turn daily commutes into an ordeal of frustration and chaos, highlighting the urgent need for smarter mobility solutions.

Planners have tried to outbuild the problem. Expanding highways seemed like a logical fix. But more roads attract more cars, filling new lanes as quickly as they appear. Meanwhile, navigation apps, designed to reduce congestion, have unintentionally worsened urban mobility challenges, diverting traffic onto side streets and creating new bottlenecks.

With traditional solutions failing to keep pace, cities must rethink mobility. The future lies in smart mobility technologies that optimize flow, reduce reliance on private cars, and create seamless, efficient alternatives for urban travel. By harnessing the power of connected urban transport, new smart-city mobility solutions can transform gridlock into a dynamic, future-ready network that keeps people and businesses moving.

What is smart city mobility?

Smart city mobility is revolutionizing urban transportation, replacing outdated systems with intelligent, connected solutions that make cities more efficient, adaptable, and sustainable. No longer just about public transport, smart mobility integrates everything—from on-demand transportation to AI-driven traffic systems—to tackle urban mobility challenges head-on.

In essence, smart mobility is a dynamic ecosystem of digital and physical infrastructure designed to optimize the movement of people and goods.

Physical components include public and private vehicles, road networks, smart traffic signals, CCTV cameras, and sensors, all working in sync to enhance flow and efficiency.

Digital components encompass integrated mobility platforms, fleet management software, and cloud-based systems that enable real-time coordination and a seamless transport experience.

But smart city mobility isn’t just about improving urban transport—it’s a fundamental shift in how cities move. With shared mobility services, flexible travel, and AI-powered traffic optimization, cities can ease congestion, cut emissions, and create cost-effective, scalable transport networks.

The seven principles of smart mobility

Smart mobility is driving the shift toward faster, smarter, and more sustainable urban transportation. To build mobility networks that are truly designed for tomorrow, cities must embrace these seven key principles.

Safety first: Advanced smart mobility technologies reduce congestion, prevent road accidents, and make urban transport safer for everyone.

Flexibility and choice: From on-demand transportation to multimodal options, smart mobility gives commuters the power to choose the fastest, most efficient way to move—anytime, anywhere.

Seamless efficiency: Intelligent transport systems optimize urban mobility by cutting delays, minimizing downtime, and ensuring smooth traffic flow, whether you’re in a shared mobility service or your own vehicle.

Always connected: Smart city mobility solutions leverage real-time data, fleet management software, and integrated platforms to deliver instant updates, optimize travel routes, and simplify urban navigation.

Sustainability at the core: Eco-friendly smart mobility technologies—from EV fleets to AI-powered traffic control—are slashing emissions and driving cities toward greener, low-impact transport solutions.

Affordable and accessible: Smart city mobility must be inclusive. Whether it’s flexible travel options, shared mobility services, or cost-effective public transport, transportation must be within reach for everyone.

Social impact: A well-designed smart mobility system improves quality of life, expands accessibility, and fosters more connected, livable cities where people spend less time stuck in traffic and more time just living.

Smart moves: Trends transforming our cities

The future of urban mobility isn’t some distant dream; it’s unfolding right before our eyes. Across the globe, cities are rapidly adopting smart mobility technologies to address their growing transport challenges. Japan’s AI-driven highways and automated vehicle-testing programs are setting new benchmarks for intelligent transportation, while the European Union’s smart city mobility solutions are optimizing cross-border travel and reducing congestion.

The road ahead is being shaped by a wave of disruptive innovations that are redefining how cities move. From real-time traffic optimization to multimodal integration, these advancements are laying the groundwork for smarter, cleaner, and more efficient urban mobility systems.

Key developments

• Shared mobility services: Cost-effective and convenient, shared mobility is taking over. From ride-hailing and car-sharing to micromobility options like scooters and bikes, cities are embracing flexible, on-demand transportation that keeps people moving seamlessly.
• Mobility as a service (MaaS): Car ownership is no longer a necessity. MaaS platforms are revolutionizing urban travel by integrating shared mobility services, public transport, and on-demand transportation into a single, seamless app experience.
• Electric vehicles (EVs): Sustainability today is a necessity, not a choice. With stricter emissions regulations, expanding charging infrastructure, and falling battery costs, EVs are fast becoming the backbone of smart city mobility solutions.
• Automated transportation: The driver’s seat is going empty. Robo-taxis and self-driving shuttles are paving the way for a more efficient and fully automated urban transport future.
• AI-driven smart tech: Smart city mobility solutions powered by AI are optimizing routes, managing traffic flow, reducing gridlock, and streamlining parking—all in real time.
• Urban air mobility: Air taxis and delivery drones promise faster, congestion-free transport, redefining connected cities transportation. While challenges remain, urban air-mobility solutions are closer to takeoff than ever before.

Microtransit in motion

This is just the beginning. The next wave of urban mobility innovation is already here. Flexible transit solutions (also known as microtransit) are transforming how people move through cities.

What does that look like in practice? Imagine you’re in a neighborhood where buses are infrequent, and the nearest subway station is a 15-minute walk away. Instead of waiting or hailing a taxi, you pull out your phone, open an app, and within minutes, a smart shuttle arrives to take you exactly where you need to go. That’s microtransit in action.

Unlike fixed-route public transport, microtransit adapts to demand, offering a personalized, efficient alternative—perfect for low-density areas, late-night travel, or first-mile/last-mile connections. It fills the gaps traditional public transport can’t reach, eliminating long waits and unnecessary detours. An important part of the smart city mobility ecosystem, flexible transit combines on-demand transportation, collaborative mobility solutions, and intelligent route optimization, helping to cut congestion, lower emissions, and make city travel seamless and sustainable.

Smart mobility, local solutions

Smart mobility holds the power to revolutionize urban transportation. But rolling it out citywide is no small feat. From AI-driven traffic systems and EV charging stations to microtransit integration, these innovations require major investment in infrastructure and technology. For older cities with legacy systems or rapidly expanding urban centers, scaling smart city mobility solutions requires careful planning, making widespread adoption a complex, resource-intensive process.

No two cities face the same urban mobility challenges. What works in a dense metropolis might fall short in sprawling suburbs or rural areas. Shared mobility services thrive in high-density city centers, while flexible transit options, like on-demand transportation and microtransit, are better suited to lower-density regions where traditional public transport struggles.

Building truly connected city transportation goes beyond one-size-fits-all solutions. Cities must adopt tailored strategies that align with geography, population patterns, public transport demand, and local culture. This requires flexibility, customization, and collaboration between city planners, tech innovators, and policymakers to ensure that smart mobility technologies align with each city’s unique landscape.

Setting smart mobility standards

Scaling these smart solutions requires more than local coordination—it demands global alignment. To unlock smart mobility’s full potential, cities can turn to International Standards that help build seamless, efficient, and connected urban transport. While ISO 14813 informs intelligent transport systems, allowing them to work cohesively across different cities and regions, ISO 21217 enhances vehicle connectivity, ensuring that smart infrastructure—from traffic signals to parking management—operates smoothly and efficiently.

But it’s not just about the technology. ISO 37100 equips cities with real-time tracking tools to monitor emissions, public transport use, and environmental impact, keeping them aligned with their sustainability goals. Together, these International Standards form the foundation for a dynamic, efficient, and future-ready urban mobility ecosystem that supports tomorrow’s smarter, more connected cities.

The next frontier: Automated goods transport in smart cities

While much of the spotlight falls on the movement of people, the efficient transport of goods is just as vital to a well-functioning urban ecosystem. A new wave of innovation is transforming last-mile logistics through automated goods transport—and it’s already reshaping city streets.

Leading this shift are public-area mobile robots (PMRs)—small, automated units that navigate sidewalks to deliver parcels, sweep streets, or even assist with transporting goods for people with disabilities. Often working in tandem with larger automated vehicles, PMRs enable smooth, end-to-end delivery across complex urban environments. This isn’t just a logistical upgrade; it’s the next leap in smart mobility technologies.

To guide safe and scalable deployment, the ISO 4448 series is establishing a framework for integrating PMRs into public spaces. Still largely in development, the new suite of standards is set to power the next generation of future-ready, connected cities transportation, turning smart city vision into everyday reality:
• ISO 14813-1:2024: “Intelligent transport systems—Reference model architecture(s) for the ITS sector”
• ISO 21217:2020: “Intelligent transport systems—Station and communication architecture”
• ISO 37100:2016: “Sustainable cities and communities—Vocabulary”
• ISO/TR 4448-1:2024: “Public-area mobile robots (PMR)—Part 1: Overview of paradigm”

Driving tomorrow’s mobility, today

As cities evolve and populations soar, the need for smarter, more adaptive transportation is greater than ever. Smart city mobility isn’t just about moving people from Point A to Point B. It’s about reimagining how we move, when we move, and why we move. The future of urban mobility is no longer a distant vision. It’s already taking shape in the form of intelligent infrastructure, cleaner commutes, and seamless multimodal journeys.

By blending automated technologies, flexible transit, and sustainable choices, urban centers are building transport ecosystems that are as dynamic as the people they serve. The road ahead is one of connectivity, resilience, and innovation. Smart city mobility is the vehicle that will take us there.

Published by ISO.