TRAPS Transport Poverty in Spain — A Data-Driven Assessment

The transport sector plays a central role in achieving climate neutrality, but the shift towards electric mobility risks leaving certain regions and income groups behind. Upfront costs, uneven charging infrastructure and existing patterns of car dependence may create new forms of transport poverty.

TRAPS examines how vehicle fleet electrification in Spain is unfolding across space and income levels. The project asks whether current policies reduce emissions without increasing inequalities in access to mobility, and how progress towards climate targets can be aligned with social justice.

TRAPS follows a big‑data approach, combining detailed vehicle records with socio‑economic indicators at municipal or postcode level. The project builds a continuously updated database of registrations, deregistrations and transfers, capturing the evolution of the vehicle fleet over time.

From these data, a national stock–flow model is developed to track vehicles by technology, emissions and other characteristics. This enables a spatially explicit understanding of where low‑emission vehicles are adopted and how quickly conventional vehicles are being replaced.

A core feature of TRAPS is its focus on open, policy‑relevant evidence. The project will generate indicators and visualisations that help policymakers, NGOs and researchers understand where current transport policies work, where they fall short and how they affect different social groups.

Results are communicated through scientific publications, conferences, public events and a dedicated web interface giving access to curated data and model outputs. In this way, TRAPS aims to support a mobility transition that is not only low‑carbon, but also fair and widely accepted.