Singapore remains the globe's top city for urban mobility

In a new report, Oliver Wyman evaluated urban mobility landscapes across the world on metrics such as system efficiency, social impact, innovation, market attractiveness and infrastructure. Singapore emerged as the globe’s leading city for the second year in a row.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. To measure the future readiness of their mobility systems, cities across the world were evaluated based on a list of more than 56 criteria. 50 urban centres have surfaced as world leaders in mobility.

Leading the way is Singapore, which has been perched at the top for a couple of years now. The previous edition of the study from Oliver Wyman also named Singapore number one, and the city’s consistency is chalked up to its forward-looking approach to mobility. Specific policies include road user charges that are priced adaptively, and roadways that are built to accommodate autonomous vehicles.

Singapore is also home to the first and longest automated rail system in the world, which gives it a significant leg up. “We are glad to see Singapore ranked number one for the second-consecutive year on the Urban Mobility Readiness Index,” said Abhi Bhuchar, a partner at Oliver Wyman in its Singapore office.

Oliver Wyman is not the only research firm to applaud the mobility landscape in Singapore. In a recent report, fellow consulting firm Arthur D. Little also ranked the city at the top of the world’s mobility ecosystem, ahead of a number of European mobility leaders such as Amsterdam, London and Helsinki.

That being said, these cities are among six European markets that dominate the top ten of Oliver Wyman’s index this year. Stockholm, Berlin and Paris also make an appearance at the top, while Asian cities Hong Kong and Tokyo among those featuring in the top ten.

Despite Covid-19 and the widespread disruption that has resulted, several cities have according to Oliver Wyman managed to up their mobility game. Bhchar reports that many urban centres were already getting there before the crisis hit, and their persistence is a promising sign for the future.

“Many cities around the world were at a tipping point, even before Covid-19, and while we won’t know the true impact on cities yet, the cities that ranked high on the Index are more resilient and in a better position to meet future challenges,” he said.