The Role of Local Public Authorities in Steering toward Smart and Sustainable Mobility: Findings from the Stockholm Metropolitan Area

The contemporary transport policy discourse has come to include an increasing focus on smart mobility. This paper contributes to this discussion by exploring early understandings among local public authorities who have a formal responsibility to steer the transport system toward sustainability objectives. The paper analyzes different governing strategies expressed by local civil servants and shows examples of leadership, a market-driven approach or reactive tactics. We conclude that commercial interests are currently shaping smart mobility, which will not necessarily result in sustainable mobility. There is a need for a political focus on how digitalization should be used to achieve sustainability.