Boston Consulting Group has released a new global assessment of urban mobility performance, revealing that while most major cities have set ambitious targets for 2035, progress on the ground remains slow. The study finds that cities are, on average, 10 to 15 percentage points behind their stated sustainable mobility goals, raising doubts about whether current approaches are sufficient to deliver meaningful change within the next decade.

The findings are drawn from BCG City Mobility Compass: The Global Champions of Urban Mobility, which evaluates 150 cities worldwide using more than 20 performance indicators, including congestion, emissions, transit access, and modal share. The analysis is complemented by survey input from more than 50 city leaders.

Ambition Outpacing Delivery

More than 90 percent of cities included in the study have adopted targets aimed at reducing dependence on private cars and increasing the use of public transport, cycling, and walking by 2035. However, BCG’s analysis shows that most cities have historically improved their mobility performance by only 3 to 5 percentage points per decade. At that pace, closing a gap of 10 to 15 points appears unlikely without a fundamental shift in policy design and execution.

City leaders themselves acknowledge the challenge. According to BCG’s survey, more than 90 percent say it is difficult to identify which interventions will have the greatest impact. Public resistance remains a major barrier, yet fewer than half of cities actively involve residents beyond basic online consultations, limiting public buy-in for more transformative measures.

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Cities That Stand Out Within Their Archetypes

Despite the overall lag, the benchmark highlights several cities that outperform peers within their respective categories. Singapore emerges as the top performer among large, transit-oriented megacities, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London also ranking strongly. Utrecht leads among smaller innovation-driven cities that emphasize cycling and active mobility, followed closely by Helsinki, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.

Stockholm ranks highest among traditional mid-sized cities that still rely heavily on cars, while Berlin leads the group of large multimodal metropolises that blend public transport with active travel. In car-dependent urban regions, San Francisco performs best relative to peers such as New York, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sydney. Among rapidly growing cities in developing economies, Kuala Lumpur stands out, ahead of Bangalore, Manila, Delhi, and Dhaka.

Structural Gaps Across Urban Contexts

The report underscores wide disparities in mobility outcomes, even among cities of similar size. Large, car-dependent cities with populations above three million generate more than twice the carbon dioxide emissions per 10-minute commute compared with mass-transit-oriented peers, while commuters in these cities spend up to 40 additional hours per year stuck in traffic. BCG identifies a strong link between lower car reliance and stronger overall mobility performance.

Fast-growing cities in developing economies face a different set of risks. Without substantial new investment, public transport access in these cities could decline by roughly 15 percentage points by 2040. At the same time, population growth could reduce per-capita rail and metro capacity by 25 to 30 percent, intensifying congestion and limiting future mobility options.

In contrast, many mid-sized cities underperform on active mobility. Compared with innovation-focused peers, these cities show significantly lower bicycle ownership, reduced bike-lane coverage, and fewer shared mobility options per capita, limiting the shift away from private vehicles.

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Data-Driven Decisions as the Differentiator

BCG argues that cities making the most progress share a common approach rather than a specific size, geography, or income level. Strong performers rely on detailed data, clear prioritisation, and coordinated policy packages rather than isolated measures. To support this shift, BCG has introduced a City Mobility Health Check Tool, designed to help cities assess their current position and compare performance against similar peers across the full set of indicators used in the study.

With an estimated 2.5 billion additional people expected to live in cities by 2050, the report frames urban mobility as a defining factor in economic competitiveness. Cities that succeed in shifting travel away from private cars toward efficient, low-emission modes are likely to be better positioned to attract talent, investment, and long-term growth.

The benchmark suggests that ambition alone will not deliver results. Without faster implementation, broader public engagement, and more targeted use of data, many cities risk falling well short of their 2035 mobility goals.

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