Need a Smarter Mobility Strategy? Here's Where Transport Consulting Comes In

Introduction

Organizations often need expert guidance to tackle complex transport challenges to increase performance. This is where transport consulting comes in. Transport consulting delivers tailored solutions for each client, ensuring services are customized and industry-specific. Whether a city is crafting a new urban mobility policy or a startup is launching a new transport service, transport consultants provide the strategic insight and network to succeed. Unlike generic advice filled with buzzwords, effective consulting delivers measurable impact.

When to Hire Transport Consultants

Knowing when to bring in support is key. Organizations, from city authorities to startups, should consider outside expertise in scenarios such as:

• Strategic Planning & Innovation: If you’re developing a long-term strategy, launching a delivery platform or developing an innovative capability, consultants bring experience from similar projects. They help formulate concrete plans for new offerings, technology integration, and business models. For example, public agencies often get external support from across the world when internal staff lack capacity or specialized skills for a new project.

• Policy Development & Compliance: When navigating complex regulations or creating policy (e.g. new e-scooter laws or climate goals), independent experts provide clarity. A consultant offers a neutral, industry-informed perspective utilizing useful data to shape policies that are both effective and preserve profitability. They can perform independent reviews of plans or compliance audits, ensuring your strategy meets EU/US regulations and local requirements.

• Tender Bids & Contracts: If an operator is bidding for a public contract or a local government is evaluating proposals, consultants can be invaluable. They help craft winning proposals and scoring criteria, or perform “gap analysis” on submissions.

• Resource Gaps & New Markets: When you lack in-house expertise – say your staff is stretched thin or you’re entering an unfamiliar market – hiring a consultant fills the gap. External advisors bring fresh expertise quickly. Consultants can also help organizations define an effective operating model to ensure successful market entry and operational efficiency. A public transit agency in Norway, for example, brought in Movability’s experts to advise on a new micromobility supply decision in an immature market. The consultants sourced specialized knowledge and structured the decision process (through RFI responses), enabling the board to choose confidently.

Types of Transport Consultancies: Finding the Right Fit

“Transport consulting” isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are several types of consulting partners you might consider, each with different strengths:

• Global Strategy Firms: Large consulting companies (like McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, or Deloitte) have dedicated transport or mobility practices. These firms offer broad strategic insight and massive resources. For example, McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility has a 300+ person global team producing industry forecasts and advising clients worldwide. A global firm brings high-level strategy, cross-sector knowledge, and polished methodologies.

• Research Institutes and Think Tanks: These are organizations (often academic or public-sector affiliated) that offer consulting grounded in research. Examples include national transport research laboratories, university urban planning centers, or bodies like the OECD’s International Transport Forum. They provide evidence-based analysis, policy evaluation, and often publish guidelines or white papers.

• Specialist Mobility Advisors: Specialist consultancies (like Movability) focus exclusively on transport – particularly new and shared niches. These boutique firms often consist of industry veterans and subject-matter experts (for example, former transit agency officials, micromobility operations managers, or tech entrepreneurs). They tend to be agile and hands-on, offering highly tailored advice.

Choosing the right type of consultancy depends on your project’s scope and needs. A global firm might guide a national EV strategy, a research institute might assess a congestion charge’s impacts, while a specialist advisor could help a city draft e-scooter regulations or assist a startup in winning transit agency contracts. Some projects even use a combination – for example, a think tank study to set a baseline and a specialist consultant to craft the implementation plan.

Strategic Transport Consulting Services

Consulting engagements often revolve around a few key strategic and policy service areas. The most relevant consulting services in today’s mobility sector include:

• Urban Mobility Strategy & Planning: This can include crafting Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) that integrate public transit, logistics transportation, micromobility, and pedestrian infrastructure into one vision. Consultants also address labor considerations, such as workforce productivity and shift optimization, to enhance operational efficiency.

• Public-Private Collaboration: Many modern solutions require close collaboration between governments and private companies. Transport consultants often act as intermediaries or strategists in these partnerships.

• Regulatory Insight & Compliance: Transport is heavily regulated, from safety standards to environmental rules. Keeping up with changing EU/US regulations – like emissions targets, micromobility guidelines, or ride-hail licensing – is a challenge that consultants tackle. They provide clarity on what new rules mean for your operation and how to comply or adapt.

• Bid and Tender Support: On the flip side of public-private interaction, consultants assist private companies in winning transport contracts (and assist agencies in evaluating bids). Services include preparing proposal documents, improving compliance with tender specs, crafting local stakeholder plans, and running scenario analyses to maximize bid scores. Given that RFPs (Requests for Proposals) can be extremely detailed, having advisors who know exactly what evaluators look for is a major advantage.

• Public Affairs & Funding Strategies: Navigating the political and financial landscape is another service area. Transport consultants may guide clients on how to obtain grants or align projects with government initiatives (for example, aligning a new pilot with a national climate fund). They also provide expertise in finance to help clients secure funding and manage the financial aspects of transport projects. Additionally, they assist with public communications, community engagement, and media strategy around mobility projects – often crucial for public acceptance.

Network Optimization: Streamlining Mobility Systems

The logistics industry is undergoing a profound transformation, with network optimization emerging as a critical driver of operational excellence and efficient transportation infrastructure. As logistics services and transportation companies face increasing pressure to deliver faster, more reliably, and at lower cost, the adoption of advanced technologies and data-driven insights has become essential.

Today’s leading logistics operators are leveraging new technologies—such as real-time analytics, AI-powered route planning, and digital freight platforms—to streamline their mobility systems. These innovations not only reduce operational costs but also enhance delivery performance, enabling companies to meet the rising expectations of customers and communities in cities around the world.

At the core of this shift is the development of innovative business models and strategic operating models that prioritize flexibility, sustainability, and customer-centricity. By rethinking traditional supply chain structures and embracing new revenue streams, logistics companies can unlock greater value and stay ahead in a competitive market. The integration of useful data and targeted analytics empowers operators to identify areas for improvement, develop tailored solutions to complex problems, and measure the impact of their initiatives with precision.

As urban populations grow and the demands on transportation infrastructure intensify, the need for expert transportation consulting services is more apparent than ever. Consultants play a pivotal role in helping companies and local governments navigate the complexities of network optimization—whether it’s designing a more resilient supply chain, implementing new technologies, or aligning operations with sustainability goals.

Successful network optimization programmes are built on a foundation of collaboration. Logistics companies, transportation companies, technology providers, and local governments must work together to create solutions that address the unique challenges of each market and community. This collaborative approach not only accelerates the implementation of new capabilities but also ensures that governance, culture, and local realities are factored into every initiative.

The benefits of network optimization extend across industries, from logistics and shipping to aviation and beyond. By embracing a continuous cycle of identifying opportunities, developing new capabilities, and measuring outcomes, companies can drive growth, improve profitability, and create lasting value for their customers and communities.

Ultimately, the future of logistics and transportation will be shaped by those willing to explore new possibilities, adopt innovative technologies, and partner with experts who understand the intricacies of the industry. With the right strategy and support, logistics operators can achieve operational excellence, deliver superior services, and build a more sustainable and resilient mobility ecosystem for the world of tomorrow.

How Movability Is Different

Movability’s philosophy is to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors in mobility. In practice, this means if you’re a public agency, Movability will bring in advisors who understand the fast-moving new technology industry; if you’re a private company, they’ll ensure you grasp public policy and compliance nuance.

Several factors differentiate Movability’s approach:

• Hyper-Relevant Expertise Network: Instead of maintaining a large generalist staff, Movability connects clients with a curated pool of experts. Movability’s team includes pioneers like Sampo Hietenanen who coined “Mobility-as-a-Service” , experts such as Lars Christian Grødem-Olsen who helped make the Oslo regulations and ex-consultants from top firms who specialized in EV charging, logistics industry and micromobility operations.

• Hands-On and Outcome-Oriented: Movability isn’t just about writing reports and leaving; they aim to see projects through to tangible outcomes. The firm offers management-for-hire services – essentially embedding an expert on your team for a period of time to lead a project or implement changes. Movability is committed to turning clients' strategic visions into reality by ensuring that plans are implemented and results are achieved.

• Focus on New Mobility Segments: As a specialist, Movability concentrates on emerging modes and challenges – micromobility (e-scooters, bike-shares), Mobility-as-a-Service, ride-hailing, EV charging networks, urban logistics, etc. These are areas where the playbook is still being written and innovation outpaces regulation.

In summary, Movability differentiates itself by being mobility specialists who bridge sectors, deliver hands-on results, and stay ahead of the curve.

Conclusion: Future-Proofing Mobility with Strategic Transport Consulting

The transport sector is evolving fast – from electrification and shared mobility to smart city infrastructure and ever-tightening climate targets. Whether it’s designing a car-lite city center, responding to disruptive new modes, or crafting a bid that wins a competitive transit contract, the insight of experienced transport consultants can make the difference between success and failure.

If you’re facing a mobility challenge or opportunity and want to maximize your chances of success, consider reaching out to specialized consulting firms like Movability. With experts on your side, you can confidently drive forward innovations that are both commercially viable and community friendly.

Connect with us if you need help finding the best setup for your next project!