Shifting Gears: Sustainable Mobility In The GCC
Over the next two decades, sustainable mobility adoption and deployment could generate socio-economic value worth $400 million in the GCC, according to PwC’s consulting business unit Strategy&. However, the six oil-dependent Arab states that make up the GCC bloc—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E.—still have a long road ahead.
Over the next two decades, sustainable mobility adoption and deployment could generate socio-economic value worth $400 million in the GCC, according to PwC’s consulting business unit Strategy&. However, the six oil-dependent Arab states that make up the GCC bloc—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E.—still have a long road ahead.
To better analyze how countries are faring in sustainable mobility, an initiative, Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All), housed by the World Bank was established in 2017 to set quantifiable goals around the transport sector. By calculating each country's average scores on universal access, efficiency, safety, and green mobility, Sum4All's 2020 data showed the low sustainable mobility performance of GCC countries (all classified by the World Bank as highincome based on their GDP per capita), with a collective median score of 40 out of 100 in the Sustainable Mobility Index. Out of 183 countries, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ranked among the lowest performers in the world and the GCC in terms of sustainable mobility, with respective scores of 23.3 and 34.1. The U.A.E. had the highest mark in the bloc, followed by Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman—all notching scores between 40 and 50. However, compared to other high-income countries, these scores are significantly low. Germany ranked first with the highest score in the world at 85.3 while the U.S. received a 67.9 index score.
So, what's causing the slow progress in the Gulf's sustainable mobility? Strategy& found the region's extensive reliance on private transport as one of the key constraints in the full implementation of sustainable transport. Owning a car in the GCC is relatively easier and cheaper than in other countries due to subsidized gasoline. Privately-owned vehicles account for 91% of transport in GCC cities. This is in contrast to the 15% private transport share seen in Barcelona, Spain (where walking and cycling are more dominant modes of transport at 55%) and 28% in Singapore (where public transport is more prevalent at 59%). In the GCC, public transport is evidently scarce, representing just 2% of all travel while walking and cycling constitutes the remaining 7%. Apart from the GCC's car-centric infrastructure, the analysis suggests that the lack of solid sustainable strategies as well as limited fiscal incentives for people to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) are contributing factors to the region's sluggish advancements in transportation.
Against these findings, Strategy& underscored a framework to address the large gaps between transport modes in the GCC. For example, large investments in mass transit like trains and buses could substantially reduce the use of privately-owned fleets. And the Gulf region has already been mobilizing projects and initiatives that support a sustainable transition. In addition to increasing the size of shared mobility, EVs, and autonomous vehicles on the road, GCC countries have been heavily investing in rail network projects, especially in capital cities, where traffic congestion is a common obstacle caused by urbanization.
In Saudi Arabia, the construction of one of the world's largest mass transit projects, the $22.5 billion Riyadh Metro Project, is near completion. The rail network will have six lines, with a total length of 176 kilometers and 85 stations. The U.A.E. is also executing a 1,200km national rail network project, Etihad Rail, which aims to connect the seven emirates to each other and to the rest of the GCC once completed. Qatar's $36 billion Doha metro, consisting of three lines at a length of 76km, has also been fully operational since last year. Metro projects in Bahrain and Kuwait are also underway.
A study conducted by Boston Consulting Group found that over 80% of surveyed GCC consumers are willing to embrace a more sustainable way of living, but some barriers remain, which consumers expect governments to eliminate by making sustainable options more accessible.