They the people: subject formation processes in urban electric mobility policy and implications for a just mobility transition

As the transition to electric mobility accelerates, debate over whether such a transition can be inclusive and equitable has grown. There is also debate as to whether a mainly distributive approach to transport policymaking can adequately address injustices within urban transport systems. Through use of Foucauldian analysis of subject formation, this paper assesses how multiple dimensions of mobility justice beyond the distributive are accounted for within policy documents relevant to the transition to sustainable and electric mobility in the UK city of Bristol. We find that despite a collective desire for socially just transitions to electric and/or sustainable mobility, the subjects constituted in Bristol’s policy documents are, with narrowly classified exceptions, fairly generic and in keeping with neoliberal discourses of behavioural choice and citizen activation. Opportunities to be involved in transport policy development tend to generalise and responsibilise participants. Thus, the framing and language used constitute subjects in ways that largely prohibit the creation of genuinely diverse, including contrarian, knowledges about existing and future transport systems, increasing the likelihood of misrecognition and injustice. We conclude that although local policy contributes to a more just mobility transition, it could do more if subject formation was practiced differently.